


Fraternal

by MayRaven1798



Series: Fraternal AU [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Incest, Lust, Multi, Obsession, Physical Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, Trust Issues, yeah never thought I would tag for incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:34:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 54,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27478885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayRaven1798/pseuds/MayRaven1798
Summary: This story takes place directly following ‘Descent’. It is still very much a work in progress so the tags may change as I go along. I have also chosen not to use warnings because I’m not sure yet how far I will push this. It’s not my usual (or maybe it is) story.Data discovers a secret about Lore; or rather a secret that Lore was keeping. It is unsettling to say the least and provokes many questions. Data now has to navigate this new discovery with Deanna’s help, while coming to grips with fallout of everything that happened while he was under his brother’s control.
Relationships: Data & Deanna Troi, Data & Geordi La Forge, Data & Lore (Star Trek), Data (Star Trek) & Original Male Character(s), Data/Jenna D'Sora, Deanna Troi & Original Male Character(s), Lore & Deanna Troi, Lore (Star Trek)/Original Male Character(s), Lore/Deanna Troi, Robin Lefler/Original Male Character
Series: Fraternal AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154963
Comments: 24
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Star Trek TNG or anything associated with it. This is an experiment in writing, or something :P Any and all feedback and comments welcome.

After Lore was deactivated and the Borg were sorted, Data made one last inspection of his brother’s inner sanctum. It was technically one small room that he kept for himself. A place he could escape his cult-like followers; a place even Data had not been allowed to enter. He told himself it was his duty to be thorough, but he was not expecting to find anything of value. 

The reality was that Geordi was still in recovery and even though Data no longer possessed emotional capability he still understood the magnitude of the suffering he had inflicted. It was something he was obsessing over; the weight of blame heavy on his android shoulders. So this little excursion, one last visit to the hellish compound, was a much needed distraction.

As Data forced the door open he was not surprised to find the room devoid of much in terms of comfort. There was a simple desk and a couple of metal chairs. He took his time opening the drawers in the desk, but other than a few memory keys and an info PADD there was nothing of interest. He thought about how he would need to decode those later, maybe with Geordi’s help. Then Data remembered, not that he had actually forgotten, about Geordi and all that he had done to him. Maybe he would decode them alone.

Satisfied with his search, Data moved to the door. That was when a notch in the adjacent wall caught his eye. On closer inspection it seemed that there was hidden door. Perhaps a storage closet, or a secret room. 

By now Deanna was standing in the doorway behind Data. She chose to follow him in case of any sudden emotional recurrence, even though it was highly unlikely. The empath did notice, however, how her friend stood stock still after opening the hidden panel; a look of what she could only describe as horror falling across his features. 

Deanna rushed closer to peer around her colleague. She wanted to see for herself what it was he had found. She was expecting the worst; a pile of rotting, discarded flesh and bones from murdered Borg drones. But that’s not what Lore had hidden away. This secret was not what either of them would have guessed. The empath covered her mouth to stifle a cry of alarm. 

There was a young man sitting, silent on the floor. He had his knees drawn up with his head resting on them. He looked peaceful, as though he was asleep. Data gingerly knelt down and gently shook the youth’s shoulder. The android was all but certain this person was dead. The seal on the panel had been airtight. But instead of falling over like a corpse, the unexpected happened. 

The young man stirred and lifted his head. “Hello Lore,” he said softly, like he had just woken from a deep sleep. “May I come out to play?”

Data was stunned into silence. Something that almost never happened. Not only was there not a mark on him, but he appeared unaffected by his confinement. More disconcerting than this was the eerie resemblance this person had to another young man they both knew well. Except for a few minor details, he could have been Wesley Crusher’s twin. The give dead away was his eyes. They were an uncanny, vibrant turquoise. 

“Yes, please come out,” said Data. He assisted the young man and they stood up together. Once standing, it became clear that not only was this stranger the same height as Data but he was strangely similar in build, perhaps leaner. Their hands were almost identical and Deanna saw it too.

“His hands, Data,” she whispered in awe. Before the android could concur the young man spoke again.

“Data?” He asked. “You are not Lore?”

“No. Lore is,” Data hesitated momentarily while he considered the best response. “Lore is no longer functional.”

The young man looked as though he was contemplating this news. “I understand,” he said after a few moments. “Will you be my new master, Data?”

Deanna cringed internally. Of course someone as demented and power driven as Lore would have kept a slave of some kind. She just didn’t quite understand why he looked the way he did.

“Master?” repeated Data in disbelief. “You are an android, are you not? What sort of relationship did you have with Lore?” He couldn’t find any remaining attachment to justify calling the other android ‘brother’. Not after the way he had treated him; treated his real family.

“Yes, I am an android and I was Lore’s companion,” answered the youth. 

“What is your name?” inquired Deanna. She gave him a soft smile as to reassure him that he could trust her. Although she couldn’t sense any emotions from him she couldn’t be sure just yet that he had none.

“My name is Tristan,” he told her with a mirrored upturn to his lips.

The empath was relieved that his name was not ‘Wesley’ as well. That would have been confusing and upsetting for some of the crew when they brought him on board the Enterprise. 

“My name is Deanna,” she replied, widening her smile. “Would it be alright if we brought you back to our ship? With Lore gone you will need a new home and people who can help you.”

Tristan furrowed his brows and looked mildly confused. “Ship? Why can I not stay here?”

“There will be many Borg establishing a colony here,” explained Data. “It is imperative that we take you to the Enterprise and learn more about who you are and where you came from.”

“Oh,” said Tristan as he considered this objective. “I will go as long as it is with you, mast—Data.”

Both Data and Deanna noted how quickly Tristan adapted and corrected his terminology without being prompted to do so again.

“Good. Let us depart and leave this this place behind,” Data said as he guided them out of the room. 

“Data, will I be able to say goodbye to Lore?” Tristan asked asked as he followed behind.

Deanna touched her friend’s forearm and answered on his behalf. “We can arrange something, if you feel the need to see him.” Then she paused before adding, “Did you care for Lore, Tristan? It is alright if you did.”

The youth had the same look of mild confusion. “I do not know,” he answered with honesty. “It is proper to pay respects to the deceased.”

Data raised his eyebrows in amazement at Tristan’s statement. It was then that he realized something; as though all the pieces finally came together to form a picture.

“Did Lore take you from Dr. Soong’s lab on Terlina III? Are you also a Soong-type android?”

Tristan tilted his head in an all too Data-like manner as he thought over the questions. “I do not know,” he answered.

Data pulled out one of the memory cards from his pocket. He hoped that maybe there would be more clues as to Tristan’s origins on one of them. It would be near impossible to ask Lore himself.

“Will I be welcome on the Enterprise?” Tristan asked as they stood at the ready in the main open space of the compound.

“Well, you definitely won’t have to hide in a closet anymore,” Deanna told him brightly.

“And this is a good thing?,” inquired Tristan.

“Yes, Tristan. This is a very good thing,” the empath reaffirmed.

.......


	2. Chapter 2

Beverly Crusher stood in the middle of the cybernetics lab in stupefied silence. It wasn’t that she was speechless, it was more like her brain was trying to spew out so many thoughts at once that her mouth had shorted out. After a moment or two she managed to make a few stuttered sounds, but still no words.

“I-I...jt...ebt...rhm..jt.”

“I understand how upsetting this must be for you, Berverly, but we thought you should be first to know about him. Unfortunately, it could be detrimental to alter his appearance,” explained Deanna. “It’s important that we learn more about him before making such drastic changes. It could be traumatic for him to lose so much of his identify all at once and Data doesn’t want to risk cascade failure.”

Beverly nodded several times in succession as she listened to Deanna speak. Even though she agreed with with her friend’s assessment of the situation from a logical standpoint, she still hated everything about this stranger and Lore’s sick parody of her son.

“He looks...he looks a memory of what someone would think Wesley would like at that age,” Beverly blurted, finally getting something out. “I mean, he looks so much like him, but at the same time not at all...like a fraternal twin, you know?”

“Yes, I know,” Deanna conceded as she put a comforting arm around her friend. She could feel the other woman vibrating with nervous energy. 

“That sick fuck,” Beverly muttered under her breath. Of course everyone in the room heard her, Deanna being right next to her and the other two being androids.

“You are upset? Have I done something wrong?” asked Tristan innocently.

“Your face has a startling resemblance to Doctor Crusher’s son. It is as though Lore took an image of him at fifteen from his memory and aged him up to his early twenties,” Data explained. 

“Oh,” said Tristan with a frown. “I did not know that. Has your son passed away?” 

Beverly’s face was burning red with anger. She knew it was in no way this poor android’s fault that he looked the way he did, but she was furious none the less.

“No. He is still very much alive,” she said through gritted teeth. “No thanks to that monster, Lore.”

Data flinched at her reference. It wasn’t so much the recollection of what happened between Lore and Wesley, but the instant reminder that his brother had survived and been allowed the chance to do more harm; harm to himself and Geordi.

Before Tristan could ask aloud what she meant, Data took it upon himself to explain. “Wesley is twenty now, but was held hostage and almost killed by Lore many years ago.”

The oddest grin formed on the young android’s face. “Hmm, that is quite fascinating.” Even though he said very little, Tristan’s tone was unsettling human and verging on perverse. 

Beverly balled her hands into fists and had to keep herself from rushing over and slapping the smirk off his face. “Excuse me?” she snapped, her voice full of restrained rage.

“Never mind,” Tristan added after quickly analyzing her reaction as being very negative. “It is unimportant.”

“Look, I’m grateful that the two you decided to tell me about...That,” she said as she gestured inconsiderately at the poor facsimile of her son. “But I have to get out of here. I can’t look at him anymore. Do me a favour and convince him to change his face before anyone else sees it; and his voice while you’re it. It’s almost worse than his face.” 

Then Beverly removed herself from Deanna’s grasp and stormed out of the lab. The empath understood why her friend was so upset. It was little consolation that Lore had found a proxy for the real Wesley. She couldn’t help but reflect on Tristan’s choice of words when they first found him; ‘can I come out to play?’. It left her with a myriad of questions that she was afraid to ask.

Data frowned as he watched his dear friend depart. It made him question what they were doing. Was it really such a good idea to bring this strange, unknown android onto their ship? For all he knew Tristan could be as mentally unstable as his brother had been. Sure he was showing signs of growth and some sympathy towards others, but so had Lore. Lore had been a master con artist.

Suddenly Data’s diagnostic beeped at him. He reviewed the issue that was causing the instrument to react. “Oh,” he said simply, not knowing how to describe what it was telling him.

“What’s wrong, Data?” implored Deanna as she came closer.

“Tristan, although you are physically and atomically male...you are also...not,” Data stated, at a loss.

“What does that mean?” pressed Deanna with interest.

“He means to say that I have both male and female genitalia,” elaborated Tristan. He didn’t seem to mind explaining himself and seemed perfectly at ease.

“Oh,” said Deanna, finding the news slightly off-putting. She was suddenly grateful that Beverly had already left the lab. “That sick fuck,” she muttered to herself.

“Deanna,” Data chided tersely. “We do not know that Lore did this.”

“Oh and do you also think that it’s plausible that your creator gave this particular android Wesley Crusher’s face?” she retorted sarcastically. “Data, Lore did this. He obviously took a brand new, or barely established android from your father’s lab and altered him to suit his perversions.”

“Is that judgement in your tone, Counsellor?” Data asked suspiciously, unused to her becoming so easily rattled. He deduced that it was due to her lack of recuperation time. Since she felt compelled to help with Tristan right after being freed from Lore, she was running on empty.

“Data, I know you had very little control over your actions. And that’s because Lore was manipulating you; controlling you. It’s very possible he was doing the same to Tristan. He was using him as a plaything and storing him away until he needed him again. He wasn’t even treating him like a person, when clearly he is very much the same design as you or Lore. Tristan is just as much your brother as Lore ever was. Doesn’t it upset you? Can’t you see the perversion—the crime—in what Lore has done!?”

Data no longer had any emotions. They were gone the moment Lore went offline. But Deanna was right. Something inside him knew that what she was saying was true and deeply wrong. And somehow, without his knowing it, Data crushed the diagnostic tricorder still in his hand.

“Data, are you alright?” inquired Tristan as he put a steady hand on Data’s shaking fist that was still clamped around the device. 

The tricorder sputtered and sparked as it died. Data released his grip and the compacted, twisted mess clanged to the floor.

“I am fine,” Data replied no louder than a whisper. Although, he did not feel fine. He supposed he was due for a diagnostic scan of his own. “Perhaps I should wait to run any further tests until Geordi is well enough to assist me.”

“I think we could all use a respite, Data,” conceded Deanna feeling guilty for her outburst. 

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. Even if you hate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay one more. Couldn’t help myself.

Deanna walked beside Tristan as they made their way to her office. It was unclear what should be done about him and with Data’s sudden, unexpected surge of emotion she took it upon herself to take responsibility for the new android. At least until Data could ensure that he was not suffering any lasting ill-effects from Lore’s hold on him.

The Counsellor tried to take a more discrete path to reach their destination, but they did pass a few crew members as they went. Most people ignored them, but one ensign in particular took notice.

“Wes!? What are you doing here!?” exclaimed Ensign Robin Lefler as she ran up to meet them. Before Deanna could intervene the young woman threw her arms around Tristan. 

They had managed to breeze past her, but she must have seen the imposter in her peripheral vision and mistaken him for the real person. Deanna cringed slightly at the sight of Robin’s over-eager affection. It would be best to correct her now, since it would be obvious soon enough that she had been mistaken.

Tristan smiled softly, in a polite fashion, as they parted. He seemed intrigued by the young woman. When Robin’s hazel eyes met the android’s peculiar turquoise gaze she took a sudden step back, suddenly unsure.

“Wes?” she asked, hesitant this time.

“Sorry, Robin,” began Deanna, “I know this is confusing, but this is not Wesley.”

Before the empath could continue her explanation, the first of many she was sure, Tristan stuck out his hand. “Hello, my name is Tristan,” he said in manner similar to Data.

Robin gave the proffered hand a suspicious glance before taking it. It felt odd to her to be offered a handshake after already hugging this bizarre stranger. 

“Hi, I’m Robin,” she replied curtly. “I don’t mean to sound to rude, but why hell are you wearing my friend’s face?”

“That is still unclear,” said Tristan as he released her hand. “However, I am beginning to understand that my appearance was intentional.”

“Oh? Whose intention was it, exactly?” the ensign asked. This time she was addressing the Counsellor more than this strange newcomer. 

“That’s not important right now,” Deanna told her firmly. “Once we have more information and a better understanding then we can discuss it. For now we want to make Tristan feel as welcome as possible.”

It was like a lightbulb went on in the younger woman’s head. Her face lit up with realization. “Oh my god, did he come from the surface? Was he involved with Lore somehow?”

“Lore was my master,” replied Tristan, much to Deanna’s dismay.

Robin’s expression shifted from intrigue to disgust. “Seriously?”

“Ensign Lefler, I’m sure you can understand the need for discretion just now. Please keep this to yourself,” said Deanna with authority. Then to be sure there was no miscommunication she added, “That’s an order.”

Robin nodded as she continued to study the oddity that was Tristan. The longer she stared, the less absurd he became. In fact, he seemed to be staring right back at her. “Of course, Counsellor Troi. Not a word.”

“Miss Lefler, may I ask,” questioned the android politely, “As a person who knows this Wesley Crusher person; do you believe I should alter my appearance to put others at ease?”

“Has Dr. Crusher seen you yet?” Robin asked with a smirk.

“Yes and she was quite upset,” Tristan replied promptly.

“Hmm, maybe you should,” she said frankly. “But in all fairness, it’s your face. A face I happen to like very much. You shouldn’t change yourself to please others if you’re comfortable with the way you look. Lefler Law 36; You gotta go with what works.” Robin finished with a wink.

Deanna didn’t care for the ensign’s suddenly flirty attitude. So she thought it would be best to cut her off before they could enter dangerous territory. “Thank you, Ensign. Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”

“Always,” Robin retorted. “See you around, Tristan.”

With that the young woman walked away. Deanna was sure that Robin was adding a suggestive sway to her hips. Not that it should matter to an android. So far he had proved unemotional and she had no real reason to believe he would respond to such stimulation. Except that it it would seem that Lore had programmed him for just such a purpose.

Sure enough, Tristan watched her body with focused interest. It seemed as though he knew seductive behaviour when he saw it. Deanna hoped that it was merely as innocent as knowing a language. Perhaps Tristan could understand body language and intent through physical expression, much as a person with hearing impairment could learn sign language. Just because he looked interested in Robin didn’t mean that he wanted to engage in sexual acts with her.

“She is very nice,” he said melodically. “I look forward to conversing with her again.”

“That sick fuck,” Deanna cursed internally at Lore as she pushed down the flare of repulsion building in her gut.  
......


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna begins to uncover more about Tristan.

Deanna studied Tristan as he took a seat in one the well-padded chairs in her office. Of course she had offered him the couch as was her usual practice. It was routine for her colleagues and patients to choose the comfortable couch where they could relax, lounge, or lie down if they wanted. 

She observed how small he made himself, drawing his legs up like he had in the hidden compartment. Tristan rested his head on his knees while he hugged his shins. It was easy enough to think that this was simply a pose he preferred, but she grew concerned when he closed his eyes and became quite still.

“Are you alright, Tristan? Are you comfortable squished up in that chair?” Deanna asked as she touched his should with feather light fingers as not to startle him. That was if he could be startled.

The counsellor’s experience with androids was the same as everyone else on the Enterprise—limited to Data. It was only recently that she had the displeasure of interacting with Lore. After a mere few days in his company she knew that she could have spent years analyzing him and still never quite understand what made him so uniquely disturbed. Even at his most wicked, Lore had divulged a sliver of remorse, as though even he didn’t quite understand what he was doing or why.

Tristan lazily opened his eyes to stare at her. Surely it was her own mind projecting the sadness she saw reflected in his deep aqua pools.

“I am functioning within acceptable parameters,” he replied softly. His tone was so much like Data, but none the less he sounded exactly like Wesley after a girl had turned him down for a date. A pouty sort of disappointment colouring his words.

“You don’t sound like you’re feeling very well, though,” she pointed out with a sympathetic smile. “Do you miss Lore?”

“Perhaps,” he answered flatly.

“Are you a little angry that he left you alone?” Although she still couldn’t sense any emotion from him it was possible he could be feeling something.

“I cannot be angry, nor can I be sad,” he told her as he closed his eyes again. “I am used to short bursts of activity and then returning to my stasis mode.”

“Because Lore only had so much time for you and the rest of the day you would wait for him to return?” Deanna surmised.

“Yes,” he replied quietly. 

“Tristan, you don’t have to wait around for someone to need you. You can be your own person; a real individual with interests. You can make friends and pursue a career of you want to,” she rambled, wanting to convince him to take part in a life that had so far been stolen from him. 

The android opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly. “What if this is all that I am good for?” he asked. “Lore said that I was as useful as a house cat.”

Deanna suppressed a laugh. “Tristan, I can assure you that even house cats do more than you’ve been allowed to do. Data has a cat and he will tell you the same.” When Tristan continued to look doubtful she asked, “What exactly did you do with Lore? I want you to tell me everything. I won’t judge you.”

Tristan sat up straighter and relaxed his arms a little, but remained in the same position. He looked down at his hands and seemed to be thinking hard about his response. Deanna was sure that this was the most conversation he had probably had in quite some time.

“We would play games, mostly,” he said at long last. “Lore enjoyed chess of many varieties. We would also play card and board games from time to time.”

Deanna felt some relief hearing that they had in fact done normal things together. “What else?” she pressed.

“Sometimes I would recite from books while he worked,” Tristan continued. “He enjoyed hearing passages out loud even though he could instantaneously recall any form of literature at any time.” The young android’s face lit up as he added, “his favourites were Poe and Hemingway.” Then he frowned as though suddenly remembering that his companion was gone. “He became more erratic after Dr. Soong had him back to the lab.”

For a moment Deanna thought she misunderstood him. “Back to the lab? You mean to say that Lore had been to his father’s lab once before?”

“No...I mean that he changed afterwards,” Tristan told her.

“You’re implying that you knew Lore before Dr. Soong recalled him by accident?”

“Yes. Is that important?” he asked with a degree of concern.

“If Lore didn’t take you from Terlina III, where did he find you?” she implored, though she was beginning to dread his answer. 

Tristan didn’t answer her. He became quiet again and studied his hands. 

Deanna could tell that he was pulling away and she was losing his confidence. So she decided to let it go for now. “It’s alright. Maybe you’ll tell me some other time. If you want to stop discussing Lore, I’ll understand.”

“He...he used to wake me to relieve his ‘distasteful human desires’; that was what he called them. In the beginning he needed me all the time, but after—once he had changed—I would not see him for days at a time. Then, when I did see him, he was obsessive and strange.”

“Strange? How so?” she probed hoping he wouldn’t shut down this time.

“As I said before, he spent less time with me and when we were together he spoke only of Data.”

It wasn’t what she was looking for, but it certainly sounded accurate. Something was bothering her more so than learning about Lore’s unsavoury habits. 

“Tristan how old are you? Or rather, how long have you been active?” she dared to ask.

“I do not know. Like Lore, I was deactivated for a long time and since he removed most of my early memories I cannot answer with certainty.”

“What did you make of your experiences with Lore when he used you to relieve his desires?” She was careful not to ask how it made him feel since he was so reluctant to explore the possibility that he could feel.

“I helped him. I was the reason he remained functional,” he replied.

“But was it beneficial to you?”

“It gave me purpose.”

Deanna didn’t care for his answer even if it was honest. “What if we could repair Lore and you could continue your relationship such as it was, would you want to?” She knew she was taking a risk, but she wanted to see if he would react.

His face lit up again, just slightly. “Could you? Is there someone who could restore him?”

“No, Tristan. I’m sorry but there isn’t. I was only speaking in the hypothetical,” she explained with regret. She supposed that she had her answer, he wanted his master back even if that meant he would be a slave.

“Oh,” he said simply. “Of course you were.” He was back to sounding disappointed. “Deanna, might I go for a walk? I believe I would prefer to have some time alone.”

Although she was delighted that he would want to do something for himself she couldn’t just allow him free access to wander the ship unattended. “I’m sorry, but you must have an escort. Also, until we hear from Captain Picard, you really should stay out of sight.”

“Why? Is your captain going to make me change my appearance?” Tristan demanded, suddenly more assertive. “How is that his decision to make?”

“It isn’t exactly. No one is making you do anything,” she began to say. However he stood abruptly and cut her off.

“I think that is the problem. You say you want me to be an individual, but I know you believe my life has has been wasted serving someone else’s needs. What if that is enough for me? What if I want to look like this and be who I am? Lore is practically my partner. I should be the one to decide if he should be restored. If Data is not capable of fixing him then I should be allowed to explore other options.”

“Tristan, please listen,” she pleaded when she could finally get a word in.

“No, Deanna. I want to see Lore, right now,” he said quite coldly.

The empath was stunned into silence by the extreme change in his personality. It appeared that Tristan could be unpredictable after all. She still felt nothing from him, but he was clearly agitated. Maybe his emotions were simply unreadable to her. 

“Take me to see Lore,” he said with more intensity, as if she would regret denying him.

Deanna tapped her comm badge and spoke into the air. “Counsellor Troi to Commander Data.”

Tristan watched her intently while they waited for a reply. It was only mere seconds, but felt like an eternity to her.

“Data here, Counsellor. How may I be of service?” 

“Tristan would like to see Lore. Can you please come and escort him to the lab where he is being kept?”

There was a pause as though Data was trying to discern why she was asking him to come to her and she was not simply bringing their guest to the lab herself.

“Of course, Deanna. I will be there promptly,” he responded.

“Thank you,” said Tristan. 

He seemed to be more at ease now that he knew he was being heard. She realized then that Tristan had asked to see Lore right after they had found him. Maybe he had been waiting for the right time to ask again, but was so concerned with being agreeable that he didn’t want to. When Deanna starting breaking down his barriers it was probable that he stopped pretending like he didn’t care. 

Deanna didn’t think Tristan was a bad person, but abuse takes a toll; even on an artificial mind. If Lore had impressed his dominance on Tristan it was not surprising that he would want to see him again, or to want to try and get him back. Just like she had observed in Data, Lore had created an addiction of sorts; one that Tristan was not ready to admit was a problem.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you taking an interest in this story. It’s still evolving, but I think I have a better idea of the direction it’s going. Any comments or questions are welcome.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data takes Tristan to see Lore.

Data took care as he lay Lore out on the large utility table in the middle of Science Lab Three. He himself felt nothing for his fallen brother, but seeing him lying lifeless on the slab did stir a certain sense of remorse. Data wished that he and his brother could have found common ground, but now would never have the chance. Not just because of the damage done to Lore’s matrix by the emotions chip and phaser fire, but because of the deception and manipulation he chose to indulge over honest communication.

Geordi joined them this time. He was adamant that he was well enough to assist even if he wasn’t ready for active duty. The engineer was more than a little curious to meet Tristan, but his excitement dropped significantly when he became hyper-aware of how much Data seemed to be avoiding him. Every time he tried to make conversation his friend would turn away and shut him out. 

Tristan was unaware of the tension going on between them, but he could tell something was not quite right. He thought it was simply because Geordi was bothered by his appearance, everyone else had been so far. Though it was harder to tell since eyes were hidden from view.

“You must be Geordi,” said Tristan as he regarded the dark-skinned man with the unusual visual apparatus. 

“Yeah, that’s right. I guess Data already mentioned me?” Geordi said with the hope that he had.

Tristan glanced at his new guardian before shaking his head. “No. It was Lore who spoke of you,” he clarified.

“Lore? Are you serious?” Geordi asked with reflexive revulsion. “What did he say?”

“He said that you were Data’s compass, whatever that means,” Tristan informed him. “He believed that if he could get Data free of your influence he would have his brother back.”

Data glared at Lore’s unmoving face as he listened to Tristan and Geordi talk. His hands balled into fists again. Something about hearing how Lore spoke so calculating about the one person he held most dear made him...tense. Not to mention the onslaught of images that flooded his matrix of the terrible torments he had inflicted on Geordi; all in the name of some insane higher purpose and Lore’s sick desire to have Data inflict pain on his best friend.

But Geordi and Tristan didn’t see Data’s change in temperament. They were too busy with their own conversation.

Geordi crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively. “And what did you think about that, Tristan?” he asked with a morbid curiosity.

Tristan tilted his head and looked off in a contemplative manner not dissimilar to Data. When he refocused he answered, “I did not think anything of it at the time. However, I now believe that Lore was wrong.”

“Oh, you do?” pressed Geordi, mildly surprised to hear him go against Lore.

“Yes. It is backwards thinking to believe that he could have earned Data’s respect by inflicting pain on the people closest to him.”

Geordi smiled and relaxed his defensive posture. Maybe this android was alright after all, even if his face did give him the creeps. “How did that make you feel about Lore; to know he was manipulating Data like that?”

“I do not know. I suppose the same way I feel about learning that my appearance was stolen from someone else...confused.”

“Confused?” asked Data, finally joining the conversation.

“Yes. I believed he was perfect, infallible,” Tristan replied as he walked over to stand beside his fallen master. “He was the reason for my existence,” he added, almost tenderly. 

After a moment, Tristan leaned over Lore and caressed his face in a loving way. Then he bent down and kissed his forehead. Data was not surprised exactly, but he hadn’t been sure what to expect. He certainly hadn’t expected the previously unemotional android to start pounding furiously on Lore’s chest with his fists. 

Geordi grimaced but stopped Data from interfering. He placed a hand on his friend’s chest to hold him in place, even if it was a solely symbolic gesture. He thought that they should allow Tristan to take out his grief and rage for a few moments. 

Data became fixated on Geordi’s hand pressing into his chest. As much as he yearned to continue the simple contact between them, he could not risk any more damage to either Lore or Tristan. So he moved around his friend to stand beside the younger android and put a hand on his shoulder. 

Tristan turned almost instantly and threw his arms around Data. He didn’t shed any tears, but he hugged him fiercely and buried his face into the crook of his neck. Now more than ever, Data could feel the physical similarity of Tristan’s body to Lore’s, or his own. There was no doubt in his mind that Tristan was also his brother and he was determined to do things right this time.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Geordi said reflexively as he stood back and watched the scene.

“No you are not, but thank you for saying so anyhow,” Tristan rebutted as he pulled away from Data. He knew that Geordi had suffered at Lore’s hand even if he didn’t understand the how or why of it.

“Yeah, well. I suppose even villains have people who care about them,” Geordi added.

“I know Lore did some terrible things, but I still do not understand why he is dysfunctional,” said Tristan.

“I did not want to end Lore, but he left me no choice. He refused to surrender,” Data explained.

“You could have done it differently,” Tristan said, accusation lining his words.

“You and I both know that I weighed every option. I had no choice in the end. It was him or me.”

“And you are certain that the damage cannot be repaired?”

“It cannot. Once a positronic matrix fails it will never be operable again.”

Tristan nodded solemnly as though he accepted his answer. Then he captured Data’s face with both hands and kissed him full on the lips. Geordi gasped audibly in shock. He knew he was behind on the details of this new android, but he was pretty sure this was completely unexpected.

Data took a moment, perhaps longer than necessary, to analyze what was happening before forcing the other android to release him.

“Why did you kiss me?” Data asked with curiosity.

“Because Lore is gone and you are my new master,” he answered matter of factly.

“I am not your master. No one should be your master,” Data corrected kindly. “I am willing to be your brother and your friend, but I will never be your master, nor your lover.”

“It is because of how I look, is it not?” grumbled Tristan as he took a step back and regarded Data. 

“Not at all. It is because I believe that we are brothers and we should treat each other as such. I am also concerned for your emotional well-being. Your outburst would suggest that you can experience human emotions.”

“I do not know what I experienced, but it was more than I could keep inside myself,” he confessed. “I will respect your wishes if you want to be brothers.”

Data didn’t think that Tristan sounded very convinced of this idea. “I think you should take some time to examine who you are. Self-discovery can be a long and arduous journey, however in the meantime, please promise not to kiss me again.”

Tristan frowned, but gave him a nod anyways. “I promise.”

Geordi was going to need to lie down after this. He wasn’t so ready after all.

......


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data is still struggling to admit that he isn’t addressing his underlying problems. Tristan gets to make some new friends.

Overnight Tristan stayed in Data’s quarters. Lieutenant Barclay still had Spot in his care and so there was little reason not to offer him a safe, homey environment over the cold sterility of one of labs. 

Data was at his workstation most of the time, diligently catching up on things due to time lost while he was away. He tried not to think about the reasons for his absence, which of course made no logical sense. His experiences with Lore were only memories now and memories could not cause him any harm. All the same he tried not to recall any of them.

After some much needed downtime, Tristan began reading about the Enterprise, Starfleet and the Federation. Although he too had an android’s capacity for quick learning and intelligence he had been kept fairly sheltered and limited in his education by Lore. It was also possible that he had lost most of his knowledge when Lore had removed his early memory banks. It was difficult to know for sure.

It was nearing the end of their second day together when Tristan followed Data into Ten Forward. They both needed a change of scenery and interaction with other people. On the one hand Data was still avoiding being alone with Geordi and on the other hand, he wanted to take his newfound brotherhood seriously.

The two androids sat at the bar in a synchronized fashion. Guinan came over to take their order. She smiled warmly and touched the younger android’s hand with affection. 

“I overheard some folks say they saw you around. Welcome back,” she said.

“Thank you, but you are mistaken. This is my first visit to the Enterprise,” said Tristan.

It would seem that Tristan needed time to accept the idea of looking like someone new, so he remained a caricature of Wesley Crusher for the time being. He hoped that maybe some of the crew might not noticed the differences as easily as some of those who knew the cadet well. The only dead giveaway was the unusual colour of his eyes, but in the low light of the lounge they could easily be missed.

“Is that supposed to be funny, Wes?” Guinan questioned with one disapproving raised eyebrow.

“My apologies, Guinan. This is not Wesley. This is my brother, Tristan,” Data elaborated.

“If this is a joke, it isn’t one of your better ones,” she said with a frown. “You want the usual, kid?”

Tristan swallowed nervously before nodding. He decided it would be best to be agreeable and not argue with the ominous bartender. She walked away, presumably to fill his order.

“Perhaps this was a mistake,” Tristan said to Data, lowering his voice.

“You would like a degree of freedom. It was either this, or completely changing your face before you were ready,” Data reminded him.

“Should I allow people to call me Wesley? Would that be wrong?” he asked, unsure of himself.

Guinan promptly returned and placed a root-beer float in front ‘Wesley’. She waited expectantly for him to try it. He leaned forward and placed the straw in his mouth. When he took a sip he smiled, but also looked confused. 

“That is very sweet, but also very cold,” he mused. “Thank you.”

The expression he made and canter to his voice was all wrong. Guinan finally accepted the truth, Data hadn’t been joking after all. “You really aren’t Wesley, are you?”

“No, ma’am,” answered Tristan politely. Guinan grimaced at his use of the ageist term.

“You can just call me Guinan. No need for that sort of language here, kid,” she told him frankly. “Did Data say something about you being his brother?”

“Yes, of sorts. My name Tristan,” he informed her.

“And do you have an Isolde?” Guinan joked with a bemused grin.

“Isolde? I suppose in true legendary fashion my Isolde is dead,” he answered humorously.

Data frowned slightly at his remark. He didn’t care for the insinuation that Lore could be compared to such a romanticized figure. It also implied that Tristan’s relationship with said brother was romantic, of which he was quite certain it was not.

“Sorry to hear that, Tristan. If you ever feel up to it I’m sure there are a number of eligible ladies who would be more than happy to help you try again,” she said sweetly.

“That is an odd comment to make, Guinan,” injected Data. “Firstly, Tristan is fairly unemotional, like myself. And secondly, Wesley had very little success with women. Although perhaps Tristan will have more success once we decide on his new appearance.”

Guinan scoffed at his statement. “Data, just because Wes struck out more than most doesn’t mean that he was ugly. He was much younger than the women that usually caught his eye. He was also nervous, awkward and easily distracted,” she elaborated. “A lot like Geordi can be.”

Data winced slightly at the mention of his best friend’s name. Both Guinan and Tristan caught the subtle reaction. “How is Geordi doing, if I might ask?” added Guinan with concern.

“He is recovering well. I have not spoken to him much since returning to the ship,” replied Data. “I have been rather busy with other things.”

“Other things more important than spending time with your best friend?” Guinan nudged.

Data looked at a loss for anything that would excuse his behaviour. “I suppose not,” he said glumly.

“Guinan, what do you think of Robin Lefler? She seems quite interesting,” inquired Tristan, distracting from Data’s pity party. It would seem that he spotted the woman in question at a table with some friends.

“Oh she is,” confided Guinan with a knowing look. “But maybe you should walk before you run. A woman like her could make your head spin so fast that it might come clean off.”

Tristan’s eyes went wide as he visualized what that could be like. Then a very mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. The effect was quite maniacal and Lore-like. “She sounds like quite a challenge.”

Data gathered from his tone that Tristan was accepting this challenge and he was not sure he liked the idea one bit. Before he could stop him, Tristan stood and walked over to Robin’s table. 

The easy laughter died down as, one by one, everyone turned their attention to the new arrival. Tristan gave a courteous half-bow to the group of young women who were now all staring at him.

Data recognized the group of ensigns; Lefler and Gomez from Engineering; Ogawa from Sickbay and Ro from the Bridge. The only one of them who had never met Wesley and looked the least perturbed was Ensign Ro.

“Good evening, ladies,” chirped Tristan. Although he was addressing the table it was obvious that his focus was on Robin.

“Hi, Tristan,” Robin replied with a nervous smile. “I didn’t realize Troi was letting you wander around unsupervised.”

“Oh wow,” blurted Sonya Gomez before Tristan could respond. “You’re him, aren’t you?”

“Always so understated, Gomez,” scoffed Ro Laren under her breath earning her a sideways look from Alyssa Ogawa.

“She’s right to be worked up, Ro. He does look just like him, it’s uncanny,” said Alyssa.

“Oh please. All human men of that age look alike,” retorted Laren with derision.

“You’re kidding right?” said Sonya, never sure when the Bajoran was being funny or just plain rude.

Data came up beside Tristan, ready to pull him away and save further awkwardness. “My apologies. Tristan has been eager to meet more of the crew,” he said evenly.

“Well, we met briefly yesterday, sir,” explained Robin. “Would you care to join us?”

Again, before Data could interject, Tristan sat down in the vacant chair between Robin and Sonya. Sonya, who was beside herself with anxious excitement, couldn’t keep from touching Tristan’s hand. To cover her faux pas she picked it up and began to shake it.

“Sonya Gomez, so good to meet you,” she said a little too quickly. “It’s fascinating, you know, just when Data was forced to destroy the only other android in existence he finds you! I mean, what are the odds?”

“Before you answer that, know that Sonya was speaking figuratively,” noted Laren with a smirk. “I’m Ensign Ro and yes I would prefer to keep things formal.”

“Geez, Alyssa is right. He looks just like him. It’s so weird,” rambled Sonya. “Not like ‘bad’ weird; I mean you’re not ‘weird’. The situation is weird.” 

“Ensign Gomez, are you alright?” asked Data. “Your face is flushed and you are speaking rather nonsensically.”

“Don’t worry, sir,” said Laren with another subversive smirk. “She gets this way when she gets flustered.” Data raised his brows as he made a mental note for future interactions with the Hispanic ensign. “I’d love to stay and see how this goes,” added Ro, “but I have Beta Shift shortly and I want to freshen up before I head to the Bridge.”

The other women at the table said goodbye as Ensign Ro took her leave. As they were, Tristan turned to Sonya and asked, “Is she always so unkind to you?”

“What? Ro? She’s not mean-spirited, she’s just not great at having fun,” Sonya replied without a shrug of one shoulder.

“You mean she’s ‘Bajoran’,” teased Alyssa with a laugh.

“Ladies, that’s not nice,” chided Robin before joining in the laughter.

“I do not understand,” said Tristan as he did his best to follow their banter. “Are you disparaging Ro for being Bajoran? That sounds wrong somehow.”

“It is,” Data noted as he looked down at the table with a disapproving air. 

“Oh, no. It isn’t,” said Sonya, quick to repair their reputation as a group. “We don’t really mean it. It’s a joke. You heard Ro take a shot at human men...it’s the same thing. No one is offended, it’s lighthearted jabbing.”

“It is racist, is what it is; and it is also frowned upon by Starfleet and the Federation,” the golden android added with authority.

“Yes, sir. We understand and we won’t do it again,” said Alyssa submissively, full knowing that Dr. Crusher would probably hear about this from him.

“We won’t, sir,” said both Robin and Sonya at the same time.

“Fascinating,” commented Tristan. “Your rank and seniority have them afraid of you.”

“Not at all, Tristan. His rank and seniority have earned our respect,” corrected Alyssa. “There’s a big difference.”

Sonya broke into a fit of nervous laughter then. “Oh goodness,” she giggled. “Can you even imagine? Afraid of Commander Data?”

Data decided that this more of what Ro was speaking of earlier, Gomez was obviously flustered.

“I was certain that everyone was afraid of him while he was under Lore’s influence,” noted Tristan matter of factly.

The table went quiet. No one dared breathe let alone make eye contact with Data. They all seemed suddenly fixated on their drinks.

“Thankfully that is no longer the case,” Data said curtly. “I too must begin Beta Shift shortly. Tristan I believe it is time for us to depart.”

“If I said something wrong, I apologize,” Tristan rebutted, wanting to stay. “Please do not make me leave. It is as though I only just sat down.”

“He could stay, sir,” Robin boldly suggested. “I can make sure that he gets back to Counsellor Troi. I imagine that’s where you would be taking him now?”

Data searched her face to be sure that she was being sincere. “He would not be a burden? You are sure it would be not be an inconvenience?”

“On the contrary, it would be my pleasure,” Robin reassured him. 

“Please see him safely back to Deanna soon. He has had a long day and may require respite,” Data told her, resigning to the fact that Tristan deserved the chance to make friends of his own. It was also a nice change to find people willing to accept him as he is, at least for the moment. And whom could he trust more than two of Geordi’s most reliable officers and Dr. Crusher’s primary nurse.

“Yes, sir. We promise not to party too hard,” responded Robin playfully. “That was a joke, by the way.”

Data nodded, but still looked doubtful. “Thank you, Ms. Lefler.”

With the departure of their Second Officer, the ensigns felt more at ease and resumed their silly banter. For a long while Tristan sat quietly and revelled in the experience of simply being entertained. Alyssa was chatting about her fiancé, while Sonya was complaining about her poor luck with men. When it was Robin’s turn to gripe she got rather tight-lipped.

“Are you still doing that long-distance thing?” prodded Sonya.

“Nah. It wasn’t really working. We both knew it was a long shot,” confided Robin followed by a heavy sigh.

“Do all young women spend so much of their time and effort on relationships?” asked Tristan out of curiosity.

“Yeah, pretty much,” said Alyssa.

“Now, wait. Not all of us want a relationship. Some of us just want to have a little fun,” countered Robin.

Sonya made a pinched face and frowned. “But where’s the romance in that?”

“When you say ‘fun’ do you mean sexual satisfaction without the ideology of a loving, longterm, committed relationship?” questioned Tristan.

“Basically,” said Robin with a chuckle. 

“It’s called ‘casual sex’,” Alyssa added with one cocked eyebrow.

“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Sonya with obvious discomfort for the subject matter. “What is with all the sex talk? We don’t even know if Tristan is interested in sex, or has had sex, or if it’s, like, even appropriate to be talking about sex in front of him.”

“Well let’s hope it is because you just said the word multiple times,” teased Robin. Then she locked eyes with Tristan and his alien turquoise orbs were alight with an intense, all too familiar flame.

“Geez, you’re right. Sometimes my mouth runs off before I can even stop to realize what I’m saying,” said Sonya with self-deprecation.

“I am not offended,” Tristan told her adamantly, pulling his attention away from Robin for only a brief moment. “However, it is getting very late and Robin did promise to see that I was taken care of.”

Robin swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. It didn’t sound to her as though he wanted to go back to Troi. No it definitely sounded like he wanted something from her; perhaps something more personal.

“Shall we,” she said trying her best to keep her cool. She gestured for Tristan to join her and he stood obligingly.

“Thank you for your company. It was very good to meet you, Sonya and Alyssa.”

“Likewise,” beamed Sonya, clueless to their ulterior motives for the sudden departure.

“Maybe you can join us again sometime,” offered Alyssa kindly.

“Maybe I will,” replied Tristan with a polite smile.

.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any glaring typos. Please let me know if there is anything obvious, or annoying. I really need to get Sonya Gomez into more of my stories. She is such fun.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan follows Robin home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is sexually Explicit. You have been warned. If you don’t want to read it you can skip to the set of dots for the next small scene, or onto the next chapter once it’s been posted :)

They were meant to go to Deanna Troi’s quarters. That was where they were heading; that was the plan. Somehow they changed direction. Somehow they ended up in Robin’s cabin instead. 

“Care for nightcap?” she offered flirtatiously. It was a dumb thing to ask an android, but it was just an excuse to get him to come inside.

He must have known it was too because he smiled coyly, not unlike how Wesley had smiled at her so many times before. She desperately tried to remind herself that just because Tristan looked like Wesley it didn’t mean that he was anything like him. But it was already too late; she was already infatuated and her body and brain weren’t listening to reason. 

As they became lost in one another’s gaze, Tristan caressed the shell of her ear and let his fingers trace the line of her jaw. Robin could feel a lustful hunger bloom deep inside her core. She could tell that he was trying to take things slow, but like a starving animal, she lunged at him and fiercely pulled him down to claim his mouth with her own.

Tristan didn’t resist her, he was eager to follow her lead. It was obvious that he didn’t kiss like Wesley. He kissed more like someone who knew that he was doing, calculating and precise, but also very sexual. He opened his mouth to her without any coaxing and seemed to know what she wanted before she did.

When she redirected his mouth to her throat so that she could catch her breath, he eagerly showed off more of his hidden talents. The pleasure he was causing with every suck, nibble, and lick was almost too much for her to take. She had never been so aroused by foreplay before.

It was his turn to direct them and he did; right onto the bed. When his mouth found that perfect spot just below her ear, he began nudging his knee between her legs. As she dropped her defences, spreading her legs for him, she was rewarded with a new thrilling sensation as one of his hands began massaging her through her uniform. He was pleased to find her wet and wanting. 

As she gasped, a wave of pleasure running through her whole body, an unsettling thought startled her—Lore. Lore had probably taught him these things. No matter how good they felt and no matter how badly she ached for him, all she could think about now was Lore; and it made her want to get the hell away from him.

Tristan stopped sucking at her neck as he felt her begin hitting at his shoulders. “Stop. Please stop,” she begged.

He did stop and moved off of her almost immediately. “What is wrong? What happened?”

She sat up, panting, drawing her legs close and making herself small. She made the mistake of glancing over at his face. He looked both beautifully aroused and so completely crushed by her rejection. Worst of all, he looked just like Wesley while doing it.

“This—us,” she muttered as she pointed back and forth between them, “We’re what’s wrong.” She covered her face with her hands in shame. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be doing this. This is a very, very, very bad idea.”

“It seemed as though you were enjoying yourself,” he said with further confusion. “Was I moving too fast? Should I ask you first before proceeding to touch you in your various erogenous zones?”

“No, Tristan, all of that was wonderful,” she groaned; hating herself.

“Then is it because I am an android? Or because of how I look?” He leaned in closer to her then, taking great care not to appear threatening, or forceful. He gently held her chin between his thumb and index finger and tried to get her to look him in the eyes. “Robin, I do not care,” he said in earnest. “Use me. Pretend I am him if it pleases you.”

“I can’t do that, Tristan,” she said regretfully, “It’s wrong and you deserve better.”

He titled her head and gently ran his fingers through her shoulder length brown hair. “You are beautiful and wonderful,” he whispered seductively. “I know right now you believe that you are being considerate, but I would find it far more considerate if you would allow me to pleasure you until you fall into ecstasy.”

Robin’s breath caught at his words; her eyes nearly rolling back in her head simply at the sound of his raspy voice. She let her chin drop to her chest, unwilling to give into him, but then she caught sight of his erection. She playfully looked up at him again with her head cocked to the side, biting her lower lip.

“Do you feel anything, anything at all when I touch you?” she asked as she leaned forward and pressed a palm along side his engorged member.

The audible shudder and ragged breath he exhaled was all the answer she needed. Robin pounced on him again. “Fuck it,” she declared, the last of her reservations denied.

Robin had been conservatively promiscuous in her younger years. Meaning that she would never turn away someone who peaked her interest, but she did have certain standards. Usually a man needed to be equally intelligent as he was attractive, and a sense of humour was a must. She honestly didn’t know Tristan well enough to know if these standards applied to him. 

Tonight she didn’t care. Tonight she let herself indulge in a fantasy and let this beautiful synthetic man do all kinds of erotic things to her. The first of which was trusting him implicitly to use his mouth and hands to explore her body. She never paid much mind to how many erogenous zones she had, but he was arguably finding most of them.

After their clothes were disposed of, he began with her mouth of course; kissing her deeply with a yearning far too authentic to be part of some program. At least that’s what she chose to believe. Then he found that delicious spot behind her ear and a second, almost as delightful, where her neck met her shoulder. He added his hands, fondling her breasts in a well-practiced motion, making sure to pay extra care with her nibbles. He even managed to find a way of squeezing her ass that drove her crazy. Eventually, he dipped his head down and replaced his hands with his mouth, so that they were now free to find their way back down lower.

It was true that Tristan had spent the past few years in the company of another android, a physically male-coded android. However, being an android himself meant that he could easily recall how to please a human woman. And he wasn’t biased. A warm body to pleasure, one that would hopefully pleasure him in return, was all he really wanted.

Robin moaned with desire as Tristan’s lovely long fingers entered her; they worked their magic on her g-spot as his thumb created a beautiful friction on her clitoris. Tristan smiled, almost as though he was gloating, as she arched her back and pressed into his palm.

“More. I need you inside of me,” she begged as her hands reached down and pulled his hair so that his face came back up to meet her own.

He captured her mouth, eliciting a needy whine from the back of her throat. Then he moved back an inch to ask, “Are you sure?” His voice was low and rough as it was before and it was infuriating.

“Shut up and fuck me,” she growled.

Always happy to oblige, she could feel his whole body shift and then he was inside of her. He didn’t wait to slowly build up a rhythm. It was more like he was losing control right along with her. He thrust into her hard, over and over, making her cry out. But he knew she wasn’t in pain because he knew the exact angle and the exact amount of force to use. In moments, she was all but screaming his name and it was the best thing he had ever heard. Well, second best.

Robin found herself staring into Tristan’s eyes as he roughly fucked her, as requested. In the low light his eyes looked dark, less alien and far more human. His hot, laboured panting also sounded profoundly human. She wondered, only for a brief moment, if there was a special place in hell for people like her who took advantage of sweet, lonely androids. But then the thought was lost when she climaxed and was overcome with wave after wave of ecstasy.

Being an android also meant that Tristan could have kept going all night. Only he wouldn’t, he understood that Robin would become overwhelmed and exhausted if he continued on for much longer. So let himself come after she appeared to blackout post orgasm. What more could he ask for? 

Then he moved to lie next to her and cuddled her close. She was already asleep before he could ask if she minded that he stayed. Lore so often kicked him out of bed that he was unsure of himself. He decided to stay anyways because it was what he wanted and he was starting to like the idea of doing what he liked for a change.

......

It was sometime later that the chime went on the door of the cabin. Robin woke to find herself wrapped up in a warm body. The air and bedding smelled of sex and so did she. She groaned as the chime rang a second time and the body entangled with hers shifted.

“Ignore it. It’s late,” she murmured into Tristan’s bare chest.

“What if it is Deanna? She was expecting me,” he whispered in return.

“Oh shit...I forgot,” she moaned in complaint before turning on the lights to their minimum setting.

“I can get the door. You require sleep,” he said supportively. Before she could stop him, Tristan disentangled himself and got out of the warm bed. She couldn’t help but admire his shapely bare ass for a moment before she noticed that he was heading for the door.

“Tristan!” she called in a loud whisper. “Cover yourself.”

The android looked down at his own naked body as though he had forgotten that he was in fact nude. He returned to the bed and picked up the top blanket, using it like a toga.

He opened the door and grinned goofily at the empath like a lush. “Good evening, Deanna.”

She grinned back in spite of her disapproval of his present state of undress and what it so obviously implied. She made him back up a few feet so that the door would close behind her, allowing them some privacy from anyone who might pass in the hall.

“Hello, Tristan. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was getting a little worried about why you were delayed. I can see now that you had your reasons.”

“Is it alright with you if I stay the night? We are very content and Robin is an exceptional hostess,” he explained, his grin widening ever so slightly.

“I bet she is,” Deanna whispered with a knowing air. “Do you mind if Tristan stays with you tonight, Robin?” she added, addressing the ensign.

Robin was sitting upright in the bed, covering herself with the sheets. “Yeah, of course he can stay. Sorry we didn’t let you know about the change in plan,” she said with trepidation. 

“I suppose Tristan is not a child and is perfectly capable of making his own decisions,” Deanna conceded. “You’re certain that you want to stay?”

“Yes, very,” he told her with confidence.

“Well, have a good night and I’ll stop by in the morning.”

“I’m actually not on duty tomorrow,” commented Robin. “So don’t worry about collecting him. When he wants, he can find you.”

Deanna couldn’t help the frown that furrowed her brow. “Alright then. I’ll see you when I see you,” she said causally, although she was not sure about leaving things so unstructured. 

She supposed that he should be treated as any guest, or visitor. He wasn’t being held pending investigation, nor was he obviously unstable. She shouldn’t presume that he was like Lore and should actually consider his eagerness to connect with another living being so intimately as a sign of growth. She should be pleased that he was moving on.

“Thank you for your understanding,” he said warmly.

“Goodnight, you two,” she said as she shook her head and left the cabin.

“Damn, that was embarrassing,” muttered Robin behind him. “Not that you’re embarrassing. The situation is embarrassing. Not the sex part, but the part where—”

Tristan cut off her words with a kiss. She was rambling like that lovely Sonya woman had earlier and he felt the sudden need to save her from herself. 

Robin could feel him smile against her mouth. “Boy, for an android you sure do smile a whole lot,” she mused as she affectionately nudged his nose with her own.

“Do you really want to spend your day with me tomorrow?” he asked, unsure if she had really meant it.

“Sure. I would love to get to know you better,” she admitted as she encircled her arms around his neck.

“As would I,” he confessed. “Perhaps you should get more sleep first.”

Robin nodded and invited him back into bed with her. It struck her how natural and human he was in his behaviour. It was almost like the android persona was an act and this was his normal, true self. She could never imagine Data being so easy with a lover, that was if he ever actually had any.

“I have to confess that I was attracted to you at first because you looked like someone else,” she told him as they cozied up together again. 

“I know,” he said without hesitation. He had told her to use him for just that reason. 

“But if I’m honest, I do like you for you,” she added with importance.

“There is no need to say anything now. Wait until we have spent the day together. Then you will know if this true, or simply the euphoria of sex.”

Robin giggled and played with his hair, which was sticking out in a messy but sexy way. “Listen to you. You sound so knowledgeable.”

“Since you are being honest,” he said ominously, “did you have sex with the ‘real’ Wesley?”

Robin let out a sigh before holding his gaze. “No. We had such a short time together that we never got the chance,” she told him, regret in her voice.

“Good. This is one aspect of your relationship that you cannot compare.” 

If Robin didn’t know any better she would say that he almost sounded jealous. She decided not to pick on him and kissed him instead. She also decided that since she was off tomorrow she could lie awake with him a little longer. It had been some time since she last indulged in the company of a man in her bed and he was undeniably wonderful.

.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the deal. I was going to glance over this scene. For the longest time I was going to set it up and leave things open to interpretation; the classic fade to black. Sex scenes are not my forte, but I do my best. In the end I caved. I decided that to understand Tristan’s character it would be useful to put in the sex scene to reveal his relationship to sex. So here it is. Long story short, Tristan is very skilled and he really likes sex.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan and Robin spend some quality time together.

Tristan wanted to get Robin breakfast so that she could stay in their little love nest. He leaned down and softly kissed her lips to keep her from drifting off to sleep again. 

“What would you like from the replicator?” he whispered close to her ear. 

Robin lazily opened her eyes and smiled up at him. She couldn’t imagine that he was hungry. “That’s so sweet of you. I’ll have eggs sunny side up with some plain toast, thanks,” she requested. 

When she caught his hand to stop him from rising from the bed, he figured that she had forgotten to request a beverage. He wasn’t expecting the look of pity in her eyes. 

“What happened to your back?” she asked, suddenly wide awake. 

She hadn’t noticed the long, jagged lines that crisscrossed his synthetic flesh before now. She must have been too distracted by his butt when he went to answer the door the night before. They looked old and not something she could have done to him; although it was strange that she hadn’t felt them either.

He gave her a shrug and patted her hand. “Androids can become damaged too. I suppose I did not have the sophisticated technology available to ensure a flawless repair.”

Robin narrowed her eyes at him with suspicion. He slipped on her frilly, flower printed robe, covering the marks and distracting her with how ridiculously cute he looked; even if it barely closed in the front. She wanted to ply him for more information, but decided to let it slide. Chances were good that Lore had done something cruel to him and she didn’t want to ruin their good time with bad memories.

They ended up spending most of the morning lounging around Robin’s small cabin. Tristan was used to small spaces and was enjoying the close physical contact between them. They spoke for a time about how Tristan didn’t know much about where he had come from, or why Lore had removed his memories. He was careful not to talk about Lore too much, knowing that the subject could be disturbing. Not just because of his terrible reputation, but because he could be considered an ex-lover.

After awhile they fell into a comfortable silence. They sat curled up in bed, reading. Even though they were new to one another, in many ways it seemed like they’d known each other longer. Perhaps it because they were both using the other as a proxy; Tristan as Wesley’s doppelgänger and Robin as Lore’s more feminine, compassionate counterpart. 

It was comforting for Tristan to find someone so open to touching him and being touched in return. Data was all too resistant to the idea of becoming his lover. He tried not think of being physically intimate as something he craved, but he would be lying to himself if he denied the sense of calm he got from simply resting his hand on his lover’s knee.

“So, you ever kill anyone?” 

The question seemed so random and out of the blue that Tristan was unsure of what to make of it.

“Pardon?”

Robin looked up at him through her lashes, flirtatiously. A very strange way to look at someone you just asked such a blunt question. “Sorry. I just finished reading a murder mystery and I got curious. I’m sure Data and Troi already drilled you on this sort of thing,” she explained casually.

“Oh. No they did not,” he said flatly as he waited for her to react.

“What? They never asked you the simplest of questions?” she asked with a measure of disbelief. Then she began listing some off on her fingers. “Have you ever killed anyone? Do have a habit of stealing, or taking things that don’t belong to you? Have you ever committed fraud, or any other criminal act? Have you ever committed assault, or raped anybody? Do you harm animals, or torture living things for fun? They never asked you anything like that?”

Tristan’s eyes went wider and wider as her list went on. “Those are not simple questions,” he said firmly. “Those are horrifying. Please tell me that the correct answer to all of them is ‘no’.”

Robin wiggled up closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry. Yes, of course the answer should be ‘no’. I guess that’s why they didn’t straight up ask you. You’re so sweet and sensitive. Forgive me?”

He didn’t reply right away. A hint of guilt colouring his cheeks. “I know why you would ask those questions,” he said with dismay. “Lore would most likely have said yes to every one of them.”

“Tristan, be honest. Were you one of the living things he liked to torture?” she asked before kissing his cheek with affection.

“He did not torture me, exactly,” he told her as he moved away slightly. “Most everything was consensual.” In fact, if he was honest with himself, the only real torture he endured was waiting for Lore to need him again.

She wasn’t so sure about what he said, but she really did not want to push him into telling her anything before he was ready. Even then, she wasn’t sure that she was brave enough to hear about it. So she let it fall to the side for the time being.

“I’m feeling kinda lazy. Want to join me for some physical activity?” Robin propositioned.

Tristan instantly got that lustful look in his turquoise eyes. Then he took the initiative and started to suck at her neck. 

“No!” she exclaimed with a bark of laughter. “I mean, I like that too, but I was thinking more like going for a run, or something,” she explained as she reluctantly pushed at his shoulder.

“Sex first and then, if you still have the energy, run?” he asked so sullenly that she couldn’t not say yes.

“You drive a hard bargain,” she said with a seductive smirk. 

Twenty minutes and a shower later, they made their way down to the recreation deck. Soon enough, Robin was breathing heavily and was just as sweaty as when they were in bed together. Of course Tristan didn’t sweat like she did and he probably could have sped up and left her in the dust if he wanted. But he was being polite and running next to her to keep her company.

He had agreed to wear the appropriate attire and she fitted him with shorts and a form-fitting tee-shirt. She wondered, with lustful curiosity as she admired his muscles as they flexed, if Data shared the same athletic build. If he did she thought it was rather a shame that he had hidden his physique under his uniform all these years.

After a few laps around the track Robin stopped to stretch. As she did so, she couldn’t help but notice him watching her. 

“Like what you see?” she teased.

Tristan bent down and cupped her chin. He gave her a kiss that made her weak in the knees and she was having second thoughts about coming out in public. What would people say if she jumped on him right then and there? Naturally, she felt a little self-conscious. She probably looked a mess, but he had already seen her naked so it probably didn’t really matter to him. 

“Your stamina is impressive,” he murmured against her mouth. “I could almost mistake you for an android.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said with a chuckle. “Your affection is so natural that I could swear that you were human.”

“Hmm, thank you,” he said with a grin.

She was about to suggest that they head back and hit the showers—again—when she noticed that he was watching a couple play racketball on one of the designated courts.

“You ever play?” she asked as she nodded towards the court.

“No, I do not believe that I have,” he said, sounding unsure.

“I guess Lore wasn’t really the sporty type. Definitely unsportsmanlike from what I hear,” she rambled lightheartedly, hoping not to offend him.

Her date didn’t seem to be listening to her. He was somewhere else, somewhere in his head.

“Tristan, you okay?” Robin asked softly as she touched his arm to draw his attention.

He startled back into the present and stared at her with a bewilder look of confusion. “What is the game with a miniature rocket?” he muttered after regaining composure.

“Rocket? Do you play it with rackets?” she questioned, trying to follow his train of thought. When he nodded she added, “Do you mean ‘badminton’? Maybe you’re thinking of a birdie?” She guessed that a shuttlecock could look like a rocket.

“A birdie,” he repeated thoughtfully. “Yes. That is it.”

“You’ve played badminton?”

“Yes, although I do not believe that I was very good at it,” he noted with a frown.

“I would think you’d be good at anything,” she said as she looped her arm through his and started to lead him towards the exit.

“Perhaps now, but this was before,” he said offhandedly.

“Before? Before what?” she asked with a nervous chuckle. She was expecting him to say something off-putting about Lore messing with his programming, or something about his lost memories. But he didn’t say anything like that, he was lost for words again.

“I...I do not know,” he murmured quietly. 

“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” she told him supportively. “Maybe we can play sometime and it will help you to remember.”

He nodded politely. He knew that his mind wasn’t like an organic mind. If his positronic brain informed him that the information he sought was missing that meant it was gone; period. It was highly unlikely that he would suddenly have it back.

Data was waiting for them when they arrived back at Robin’s quarters. Robin wondered if she should mention Tristan’s strange lapse in memory just before, but decided that Tristan would tell him himself if he wanted to.

The Second Officer told them that Captain Picard was ready to meet with Tristan, although he looked a little unsure about the matter. Robin thought that it could be that he was uncertain about taking Tristan up the Bridge to meet his captain; or maybe he was displeased to discover that Tristan had been with her since he left them together. Whatever the problem was, Data was keeping it to himself.

......


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don’t go very well in the ready-room or afterwards.

It was a good thing that Tristan was used to being stared at in all manner of ways—good and bad. He waited patiently to be addressed by Captain Picard, but he had not anticipated such a long wait. The longest he had ever waited for Lore to acknowledge him had been a little over nine days. They simply sat in perfect silence staring at one another. It was peaceful, although exhausting as well.

When Lore did address him, finally, he confessed to imagining his companion without any skin. Later, he clarified that an android without skin was mediocre, but a human screaming in a symphony of agony as he slowly and carefully peeled him like an onion would be pure bliss. Tristan did not understand the significance of this until now. Knowing he resembled a human changed the context of many of their conversations.

“So, Tristan, is it?” Began Picard. The android gave him a nod. “Hmm, and who gave you this name?”

“Lore did,” he replied without hesitation. 

“And it was Lore who gave you your resemblance to one of my former crew; Wesley Crusher?” 

Tristan almost rolled his eyes. He was getting bored of everyone asking the same inane questions over and over again. Especially since he knew that as captain, this man would already be informed of such things. 

“Yes, sir.”

“It is odd that he constructed you to look like an adult version of him though,” observed Picard. “He was a boy of fifteen when they met.”

“It is not all that strange,” Tristan countered easily. “Lore did not build me, he merely customized me. I believe that he had to work within the constraints of what he was given. I share the same physical build as any other Soong-type android.”

“Yes, ‘customized’,” repeated Picard with a barely hidden scowl at the thought. “I have been told that you will choose a new face. I hope that you do so in a timely manner.”

“Why?” Tristan asked playfully as he came closer, leaning over the captain’s ready room desk. “Does this face offend you?” He was feeling bolder today. Maybe it was due to his affair with Robin, or maybe he was just feeling freer since he was no longer being forced to literal hide himself.

Captain Picard knew he should hold judgement about this person—android or not. However, the way Tristan was goading him with a mock-pout sent a shiver of revulsion up his spine. 

The truth was that it wasn’t so much that Tristan resembled Wesley; it was the sum of the subtle differences, thanks to Lore’s imagination, that bothered him. Differences that, at times, made him look more like the boy’s father, Jack Crusher. 

“Yes, I’m sorry to say that on you, it does,” Picard stated flatly, refusing to play along. “You will continue to be chaperoned while you are on my ship. At least until it can be determined that you are of sound mind. I expect you to meet with Counsellor Troi so that she may continue to assess you; and I request that you refrain from assuming Mr. Crusher’s identity.”

“I have been quick to correct anyone who thinks that I am him,” replied Tristan, adapting a very business tone. 

“Then Ms Lefler is fully aware of who you are?” the captain pressed.

“Of course she is,” scoffed Tristan, mildly offended that Picard would think so little of one of his officers to imply that she was dumb enough to make such a mistake. “This is strange for me as well. I am the one who has to cope with losing my identity; not just as Lore’s companion because he is gone, but I no longer understand why he made me the way that I am.”

“And what way was that, exactly?” pressed Picard with a sickening twist in his gut.

“I am not ashamed of the things we did. Shame is a human emotion,” Tristan told him with confidence.

“No?” prodded Picard with thinly veiled distain. “And what of your moral and ethical programming? What does it tell you about the amoral things you did together? Two brothers engaging in heavens knows what? Can you honestly say that there is no misconduct to report?”

Data had been sitting quietly behind Tristan, staring at the circular fish tank. He was as curious as Picard to hear Tristan’s answers. He noted the escalating tension between them, but did not wish to interfere. Lore would never have interfered and Deanna had warned him about Tristan’s possibly unpredictable behaviour. So, he stayed silent, even when Tristan turned to give him an imploring look, begging him to intervene.

Tristan could tell that he would have no help from his ‘new brother’. So he swallowed down the blooming distress within him and tried to look indifferent. He refused to be pitied, as well as prejudiced against for what others assumed of his past conduct.

“There is none,” said Tristan all too calmly. “I consented to all of it. Every kiss. Every touch. Every penetration.” 

He spoke so evenly that his words almost didn’t sound like the violations they so obviously were. Picard flinched, deeply disturbed by the confession. His mind was still so acutely aware of Data’s recent descent and how quickly he had turned to cruelty. It was also not so long ago that the real Wesley Crusher had sat in that very chair and lied to his face about an indiscretion that had cost the life of another cadet. 

Something about hearing such terrible things come out of someone so unsettling familiar made Picard’s iron will falter.

“Get out!” he yelled.

“Captain, Tristan was only being honest,” came Data’s excuse, too late.

“Out! Both of you, now!” Picard roared.

Data escorted Tristan by the arm out of the ready-room and quickly took him into the turbolift. He did not fail to miss the strange look their sudden departure earned him from both Commander Riker and Lieutenant Worf. He was sure they must have heard Picard’s outrage through the wall.

“That went poorly,” Tristan surmised as he tried to pull away from Data and failed. “You can let me go of me now.”

Data ignored his request and continued to hold onto him just as tightly. “You should not have said such an offensive thing, even if it was the truth.”

“You left me to fend for myself,” Tristan retorted with offence. “He was baiting me to say something horrible. I only gave him what he wanted. You and your friends hate Lore. Why should I pretend to hate him as well just to please all of you.”

“I do not hate Lore,” Data quickly countered, correcting his misconception. “I am incapable of hating anyone or anything.“

If only the android’s body agreed with his words. Data’s hand clamp down harder still on Tristan’s bicep, earning him a suddenly fearful look as the other android stopped fighting against him. But Data didn’t understand why Tristan appeared to change so quickly in his defiant behaviour. It was almost as though he was suddenly cowering.

“I apologize,” Tristan muttered as he kept his eyes on the floor. “I will apologize to your captain, if that is what you want.”

“Yes. I believe under the circumstances an apology would be appropriate, however it would be best to give Captain Picard some time and space first. You simply need to learn how to speak to those in authority,” Data continued calmly. “I am certain that Lore was the worst role model to demonstrate how to be respectful.”

“Whatever you want that is what I will do,” Tristan conceded.

It was true that androids don’t experience pain the same as organic life forms, but Data had not let up on his grip and Tristan was begging to wince none the less as the softer synthetic tissue in his arm became damaged. Data finally saw the discomfort on Tristan’s face and realized what he was doing. He released his hold and stared at his defiant hand.

“I am sorry. I did not know that I was holding onto you so tightly. Why did you not say anything?” But Data already suspected that he knew the answer. Lore would never have allowed him to complain, let alone talk back to him. Tristan didn’t answer, a lone tear rolling down his cheek. The lift stopped and the door opened. Data expected the younger android to want to get away from him, but Tristan didn’t move.

“Tristan, please talk to me. I did not mean to inflict any injury,” said Data as he held him by the shoulders, careful this time to keep his touch light. Then he moved closer and hugged him. Tristan hugged him back, seemingly in forgiveness. “It will be alright. I can be here for you now, as Lore never was,” Data added reassuringly.

Tristan wanted to give in, he wanted to be held and petted and told he was loved by Data; but not like this. Not in a sweet, sincere sort of way. He wanted it in a dirty, twisted way; the way Lore used to do it. 

It was Data’s turn to wince. He quickly pulled back when Tristan tried to kiss him.

“You promised that you would not do that again,” he said with sudden uncertainty.

“Data, show me how much you want me; how much you need me,” Tristan begged with every last part of him.

Data released his hold and backed away from him. “No. I am incapable of feeling such emotions. Even if I could, it would be wrong. I cannot do such things with you. It is not a healthy way to express affection between siblings. Besides, I was under the impression that you and Ensign Lefler were in the beginnings of a new relationship. How would she feel to know you were acting this way?”

For a moment Data thought Tristan would storm off and he would have to chase him down. Instead, he hung his head in defeat and kept his eyes on the floor, same as before. 

“I need to recharge. Please take me somewhere that I can be still for a time,” Tristan requested quietly. Data was right, he couldn’t face Robin now. Not until he knew what it was he wanted.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Picard is one of the coolest, most diplomatic minds, but I wanted to show that he was feeling as strained as everyone else after being held captive by Lore. Tristan is a bit of a reflection of Lore and his refusal to submit to authority. It’s only when brute force is applied that he falls back in line.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna tries to help Tristan feel better, but ends up discovering something about him none of them were expecting.

“How long has he been lying there?” asked Deanna as she continued to digest what Data just divulged about their captain’s unusual outburst. She made a mental note to speak to Picard later.

“Since we returned from the Bridge late yesterday afternoon; approximately fourteen and a half hours,” Data confided. He was due to return for his first duty shift since everything had happened. Though now he was less sure of himself. 

They still had no definitive answers as to why Data had reacted so violently a couple of days earlier; crushing the tricorder in his hand. He wanted to tell Deanna about almost crushing Tristan’s arm, but for some reason, he didn’t know how to. He decided that helping Tristan was more pressing.

The android in question was currently lying on his back on Data’s bed and although he claimed to be resting, was staring blankly at the ceiling. He had surprised them both by bonding with Ensign Lefler. The mysterious android was behaving more and more like a moody teenager; mouthing off to their captain and sulking in a depression-like state.

“Why don’t you report for duty, Data,” Deanna suggested, supportively. “Returning to your routines might improve your own wellbeing.” She gave him a weak smile and patted his hand in an attempt to get him move along. “I will stay with Tristan and see if he’ll talk to me.”

“I must warn you, Counsellor. He is proving to be increasingly provocative.”

“Is he? Or is he just trying to show you who he really is? Maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss his behaviour as acting out.”

Data opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and closed it again without saying another word. He gave Deanna a nod and left his charge in her capable hands.

Deanna sat down on the edge of bed closest to Tristan. She waited for him to acknowledge her for a short time, but it quickly became apparent that he intended to ignore her.

“How are you today, Tristan?” she asked, careful to keep her voice low and her tone soft.

“I am functioning within acceptable parameters,” he mumbled almost inaudible.

“You know, Data often states that he is functioning within ‘normal’ parameters. It sounds to me as though you might be functioning just above dysfunctional,” she rambled.

“So now you are a cybernetic engineer as well as a psychologist?” he snarked without breaking his focus on the ceiling. He was sounding all too Lore-like and it made her shift uncomfortably in her seat.

“No, but I know that our choice of words can often have more meaning than we realize,” she informed him, keeping her tone professional. 

“Then I would not have said acceptable since none of your crew mates would describe my behaviour as such.”

“Fine. If you could use your own term for how you perceive yourself, what would it be?”

He seemed to think this over. “Lost. I am lost,” he said at last, closing his eyes as he spoke.

Deanna sat with his words for a moment before pressing forward. “Lost? Do you mean that you are disoriented because you have no idea what is going to happen to you now that you are on the Enterprise? Or do you feel lost in that your life is without meaning?”

“Both I supposed,” he said as he slowly opened his eyes again.

“Tristan, what you’re experiencing is normal. I’m sure it’s new and unsettling, but Data and I want to help you navigator through this transition in your life. We honestly want you to succeed.”

The android shifted then. He turned towards her on his side and propped his head up with his hand as he rested on one elbow. “You are not like the others,” he said thoughtfully as he studied her face. It was true. It never felt as though she wanted anything from him except for him to be who he already was. “Even though I upset you at times you believe I have the right to do so. Captain Picard did not understand me this way.”

“Data said he kicked you out of his Ready-room,” Deanna confided as she held back a grimace. “I think he just hasn’t quite come to terms with everything that happened under his watch. He went down to the surface against regulations because he very much wanted to see Data returned home safely and in one piece. If he had known Lore was waiting to ambush us he would have maybe done things a little differently.”

“And now he is as damaged emotionally as Geordi was physically and requires time to heal,” noted Tristan. 

Deanna was a little taken aback by his insight into the matter. “Something like that. In a way he is probably feeling a little lost too.”

The corner of Tristan’s mouth upturned. It wasn’t unpleasant, but seemed to show his appreciation for her empathy. 

“Deanna, it has been my impression that this Wesley person is held in high regard by those who know him,” Tristan said with interest. “Do people feel that I am making a mockery of him?”

“I’m not sure. I believe it is more the perceived notion that Lore was making a mockery of him,” she explained. “When Wesley’s friends and family learn of your association with Lore they become uncomfortable with all that could imply.”

“You believe it implies that Lore desired to do unsavoury things to Wesley, but not necessarily to me?”

Now that was a loaded question that Deanna wasn’t entirely sure she could answer. So she deflected and tried to get more information first. “Do you think Robin enjoyed your company because she felt like she was with Wesley?”

“At first she openly admitted to as much, but as we spent more time together she claimed that she liked me for me, whoever that is,” he said with a touch of bitterness. “Maybe Data was right. I should learn more about who I am before I end up creating more confusion.”

Deanna had to agree that this was very sage advice, even if it was frustrating for him to remain unattached to others. “Maybe Robin sees something in you that you can’t just yet. I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss her,” she said with ease. “Did Lore ever speak to you with terms of endearment, Tristan? Did he ever say anything that showed that he cared for you?”

“Lore was not the sort of person to confess his affections,” he replied easily. “However, I believe that he cared for me, in his own way.”

“And that was satisfactory for you?” she prodded. “Did you ever tell Lore how you felt about him?”

“Everyone was always so down on him,” he said, suddenly sitting up and looking more alert. “They could only ever see the android; the machine. It was so unfair. They were always telling me to stay away from him.”

“Who, Tristan? Who looked down on him?” Deanna found it startling that Lore would have had him out and about where he could interact with other people.

“The people, all of them,” he said vaguely with a sharp shake of his head. “You would think a scientific community would be more open-minded.”

“What community are you talking about?”

Tristan went quiet and looked suddenly lost again. He seemed to be searching her eyes for an answer that was just out of reach. It was the same as the badminton. It felt like something he knew well and, at the same time, not at all. 

“I do not know,” he said with frustration.

“You were remembering something. Try to think of it again. Try to picture being with Lore and how others saw him,” she instructed, hoping she could guide him back into the recollection. 

He closed his eyes and held his breath. Then he slowly let it out again. He tried to clear his mind, which was basically impossible. However the more he thought about Lore, the one he knew from before he had been corrupted, the more he could recall.

“There was an emporium. It was busy and noisy. So many merchants would visit. So many different species,” he recounted softly. “There was a woman...she had silver hair,” he said in a far off way. He touched his own hair as he spoke as though it would help him see it clearer. “She was very judgmental; like your captain.” 

Deanna watched his expression become more human as he genuinely smiled. For the first time she could sense a warm affection from him. It wasn’t because of the older woman, but because of who else he was thinking of.

“Lore was so different than all of them. Most people disliked him because of it, but I liked him because he was so unique,” he told her in a dreamy, lovesick tone. “He was so surprised when I pursued him. He thought I was crazy. Maybe I was; but he made me that way.” 

“Orla was sure I’d lost my mind,” he continued, sounding not only different but as though he had an accent. “At least that’s what she’d said. I think she was just jealous that she hadn’t tried to kiss him first. You should’ve seen her face when I told her. I thought she was gonna run and tell on me; like we were children again.”

Deanna didn’t want to interrupt him, so she did her best to note every time he used a contraction. He was so unlike the android they knew so far. It was as though he was in a trance, remembering someone else’s life. Someone who met Lore as opposed to being created and programmed by him. It was baffling.

“But he was worth it. He was so much more than anyone would allow him to be. Lore wasn’t some robot, he was a person. Why was that so hard to understand?”

This time Tristan was actually addressing her. Deanna was unsure if she should answer him and risk breaking whatever state he was in. Then it became clear that if she didn’t answer him he might break out of it just the same.

“People fear those different from themselves,” she replied softly.

“I suppose they do,” he concurred, returning to his regular speech. “Perhaps that is why your crew fears me.”

Realizing that the moment was over, Deanna tried to get him to examine what he had revealed. “Tristan, who is Orla?”

“Who?” he asked in return.

“When you were talking about the people who disliked Lore, you mentioned someone named Orla,” she reminded him. 

“I did?” he questioned as he thought it over again. “I did...she was...a young woman with hair like yours,” he said in a more detached fashion. “Beautiful, dark curls. I knew her a long time ago, at least I think I did.”

“Do you feel as though maybe you have memories that are not your own?” 

“No. I think it is more that I do feel like myself now. Or maybe you are right. Maybe it is as though there are two different versions of me,” he said, knowing it was illogical. “This cannot be good.”

“Try to picture the woman again; try to think of Orla,” said Deanna as she took his hands in hers to help him focus. “Who is she?”

Tristan stared down at their hands and did his best to try to remember. “I only have one answer, but it cannot be the correct one.”

“Anything is possible. Tell me what answer came to you.”

“Orla is my sister,” he whispered as though it was a dreadful thing to say. “But I cannot have a sister. I am an android.”

Deanna swallowed down the sudden jolt of panic. It didn’t sound as though Orla could be his sister like Data was his brother. It was more like Tristan had memories from a real person and they were either buried somewhere deep inside, or the bulk of them had been taken intentionally by Lore. 

There could only be one, very improbable explanation for such a thing to be possible. Dr. Soong could have used Dr. Ira Graves’ method of memory transfer to create Tristan. Which not only meant that Soong had gone against his own code of conduct, but that Tristan was much older than what they initially believed.

“Tristan, do you think the people—the older woman and everyone else—could they have been colonists on Omicron Theta?” she asked almost breathlessly.

He squeezed her hands a little as he tried to discern an answer. She could see his eyes dart back and forth as he searched his memory banks. “My internal chronometer informs that I was activated within the last three years and that would not be possible.”

“Activated, or re-activated?” she pressed.

“I cannot say for certain. Lore removed many of my memory files from just before he returned from Terlina III,” he replied firmly. 

That was what Tristan had said before, which meant it was time to have Data decode those memory cards he found.

“Am I broken, Deanna? I think there could be pieces of me missing,” he said sadly.

“I think we just figured out why you feel so lost,” she said in hopes of reassuring him. “Now maybe we can re-discover who you are together.”

Tristan smiled weakly, but didn’t look so convinced.

.....


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data and Geordi poke around in Lore’s memories for answers and come to some startling realizations.

After hours of trying to decode the memory key cards found in Lore’s desk, Data and Geordi were no closer to sorting them out. Most of the information was damaged beyond repair and the rest was so encrypted that only an insane person could have cracked the coding. Unfortunately, asking Lore to help them was not a viable option.

“This is not exactly how I envisioned reconnecting with you, Geordi. It is a little as if Lore is having the final laugh at our expense,” lamented Data.

Geordi thought it felt a little more like Lore was giving them the middle finger, but didn’t think it was necessary to say so out loud. “You know what you need to do, right?”

Data considered this question briefly before saying, “I need to speak to Lore. However, that is no longer possible.”

“No, Data. I mean, yeah, but Lore is an android. We should try to salvage some of his memory banks. We can sift through them to try and find out where Tristan came from and why Lore hid him away like he did.”

“I do not know that we can salvage anything at this point,” Data replied, resistant to the notion. “Even if we could, it would take a significant amount of time to examine all of his memories.”

“So we engage the files with the computer and search for specific memories pertaining to Tristan,” offered Geordi.

Data gave his friend a look of discomfort. “We could come across any number of unsavoury experiences between them,” he noted. “I do not know if I want to become so intimately knowledgeable of Lore’s activities.”

Geordi felt the same way, but he would rather take the risk than hope that Tristan would suddenly remember anything himself. “We need to make progress and fast, or the captain will have him ordered off the ship.”

“Captain Picard would never do such a thing,” Data retorted.

“Sure if it were you...or an android more like Lal was. But Tristan is become more and more erratic. We don’t know that we can trust him.”

“Counsellor Troi says that he has been abused and having his memories taken from him was not his fault.”

“I agree about the memories. But we still don’t really know that he was abused,” Geordi said with skepticism. “I’m not saying for sure that he wasn’t, but we are all putting a lot of predisposed ideas of what is and is not normal between two androids. Maybe Tristan is not such a victim after all.”

As much as Data did not want to admit that Geordi was right, years of deduction and mystery solving told him that he had to least entertain the possibility that he could be. So they went about the task of recovering what files they could from Lore. Once the least damaged memory files were uploaded and ready for review, they both took a moment to mentally prepare themselves for what they were about to discover.

“Computer,” Data commanded. Upon hearing the expected chirp in response he continued, “Please bring up the earliest memory with any instance of the name ‘Tristan’.” The computer chirped again and began the search. 

“I suppose this could take some time. Maybe when we’re done investigating Tristan you can review some of Lore’s memories involving Dr. Soong. You know, get to know him as he was back then,” said Geordi supportively.

“I do not know that I would want to,” said Data. “Lore and my father had a very turbulent relationship. I do not know that I would want to experience how Lore perceived him. His emotional capability may have coloured his thoughts and memories of Soong.”

“I guess I never thought of it that way,” conceded Geordi.

“There are several early memories file—both internal thought processes and experiences—with reference to the name ‘Tristan’,” announced the computer. “Would you care to review them as a transcript, or in visual format?”

Data and Geordi exchanged a look. Both were reluctant to say visual, but they knew this would be the most telling. After having their unspoken conference, Data instructed the computer to review an experience as the visual playback.

The viewer came to life with what looked like an ancient video file, complete with slight flickering to the image. Although it was in colour it was not overly saturated, giving the picture an almost sepia tone. It was truly like looking through Lore’s eyes.

They could see a hand reach down and help someone to their feet. It was a young man who looked almost exactly like Tristan did now, which confused them both for a moment. Despite the muted colours there was no mistaking the deep blue-green of his eyes. Then Lore spoke spending shivers down Geordi’s spine.

“My apologies,” said Lore.

The young man chuckled and smoothed back his unruly auburn hair with one hand. “No need. I was the one who bumped into you,” said the young man with a hint of an accent. “Do you always ask for forgiveness when it was the other person at fault?” 

There was no response from Lore, but he did begin to turn away as though moving on. Then he turned back and looked down at a hand on his arm. The young man had stopped him from leaving, it would seem.

“I was only teasing,” he said with another easy smile. “Don’t tell me you have no sense of humour?” Lore must have glared at him because Tristan put his hands up defensively. “I guess not. Sorry. Too bad though. I bet you could do some real mischief if you wanted.”

“Mischief?” asked Lore. Then he proceeded to list off alternatives as though to better understand the term. “Misbehaviour, misconduct, misdemeanour, perversity...oh.”

“Geez, Lore sounds so much like you,” Geordi said with a grimace. “When the heck was this?”

“Specific star date unknown, relatively early 2330’s,” chirped the computer, interrupting the payback for only a few seconds.

Geordi was speechless. If that was true then this memory was from much longer ago than either of them had anticipated.

On the screen the young man cupped a hand to his mouth. “Do you like ‘perversity’, Lore?” he asked in an exaggerated whisper.

“How did you know my name?” questioned Lore in surprise.

“How could I not know your name?” the young man replied. “Everyone knows who you are; ‘Lore, the amazing robotic man’.” He said the last bit like a busker at a carnival.

Then they heard a female voice from somewhere off screen. “Tristan O’Donnell, you leave that thing alone and go home this instant!”

Tristan rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Don’t mind my gran. She doesn’t like anyone.”

“O’Donnell? Are you related to Juliana O’Donnell?” asked Lore.

Geordi and Data looked at one another again as though that was supposed to mean something. It certainly seemed to mean something to Lore.

“Tristan, now!” called the same shrill woman.

“She is ordering you about as though you were a small, disobedient child,” observed Lore. 

“I’d better go. Maybe next time my cousin goes up to see your creator I’ll hitch a ride,” Tristan said with a wink.

Then the file ended and the screen went black.

“Hey Data, do you have any journal entries from the colonist that mention a Tristan or Juliana O’Donnell?” inquired Geordi.

Data searched the journal entries still remaining in his databanks. “Not specifically, however I do have several mentions of the O’Donnell clan. They were a fairly prominent family on Omicron Theta.”

“Shit, seriously? That really was Omicron Theta?” Geordi said with a measure of disbelief.

“And that was a very alive, very human person named Tristan. Not an android,” Data pointed out. “It would appear that he always looked quite similar to our Wesley Crusher.”

“This is gonna get really weird isn’t it?”

“I believe that it will.”

“Computer,” said Geordi, “please find another early entry, but this time with the reference to Tristan being an android.”

“Working,” replied the computer.

“If this memory is in fact accurate we may have no grounds to request Tristan change his appearance. The captain will not be pleased,” said Data.

“Forget the captain; Beverly will be livid,” winced Geordi. Data could not deny that his friend was probably right.

“Several memory files have been found. Would you like to begin playback?” inquired the helpful computer.

“Please play only the earliest file,” commanded Data.

The screen lit up with the same muted colours. This time there was a whole room visible. It was the lab on Omicron Theta, they both recognized it right away. There was a middle-aged man standing with his back to Lore and Tristan was sitting shirtless on a metal table with his legs dangling off the edge; for some reason he was not wearing his shoes or socks.

“What have you done!” Lore’s voice was much more emotional this time. It was full of outrage and something akin to fear.

“I’ve saved you from yourself, my boy,” stated the man. Although his back was still turned, Data knew it was Dr. Soong from his voice and his posture.

“Lore, what is it? What is wrong?” implored Tristan as he continued to dangle his bare feet like a child at the doctor’s office. This Tristan sounded more like the one they knew now.

“You, Tristan. You’re what’s wrong. We should have told them,” said Lore just as upset as before.

Dr. Soong stopped whatever it was he was doing and came in close to Lore. It was surreal to see the man so much younger and so full of passion. “It was an accident. Everyone makes mistakes. Only no one will see it that way, Lore. That’s why I had to do this.” He had his hands on his son’s shoulders and he was looking more than a little tired.

“Tell me you didn’t hijack Data for this ‘Hail Mary’ of yours,” Lore asked with dread.

“No, no. Your brother is fine,” Soong reassured him. “Memory transfer method supersedes the intricacies of slowly building up the programming needed to sustain a positronic matrix. I could have half a dozen ‘clones’ made up before I had one fully functional android like you or Data.”

“I do not understand,” came Tristan’s small voice. He was staring at his feet now. 

Soong led Lore over to the table, over to Tristan. “It’s alright, Tristan. You came up here with your cousin and took a tumble. You hit your head, but you’re just fine now,” explained Soong.

“I am?” asked Tristan, obviously still confused. He wasn’t looking at Dr. Soong, he was watching Lore.

“Yeah, Tris. You’re fine,” said Lore as though following his father’s lead.

“Oh good,” said Tristan as his face looked a bit brighter. “Where are my shoes?”

Lore’s focus landed on the young man’s bare feet. Data noted how they also looked like his own feet.

“I’ll lend you a pair,” said Soong as he gently patted the youth’s cheek.

“That did not answer my question,” noted Tristan.

“Stop worrying about your god damned shoes, Tris. Now just shut up and do whatever Dr. Soong tells you,” Lore blurted with frustration.

“Lore, relax. You don’t want to scare the poor boy,” said Soong sympathetically.

“Lore does not scare me, Noonien,” Tristan said with a grin. “He is more bark than bite.”

Then Tristan slid off the table and enveloped Lore in an embrace. Both Data and Geordi looked equally as uncomfortable witnessing the young man essentially kissing the viewer.

“Huh, I was sure that the emotional attachment to you didn’t transfer.” It was Soong muttering off to the side somewhere. “I guess I’ll need to fix that before I send him home.”

“Why?” mused Lore, all loved up from making out. “I think I like him this way. If you need to fix anything it’s his inability to use contractions. Someone’s going to notice that.”

“Lore, he can’t go on being attached to you. Your indiscretions are what got him into trouble in the first place,” complained Soong.

“Yeah, but he’s so much sturdier now. What does it matter?”

“Heaven help me...Lore no. Just no,” said Soong as he pulled Tristan out of Lore’s reach. “I’ll fix the little glitches and then he goes home. And unless you want a mob with pitch forks on our doorstep this is done; end of story.”

“You honestly think that his own family won’t notice that he’s not ‘real’ anymore?” scoffed Lore.

“Juliana will help smooth things over,” Soong said as he helped Tristan to sit again. 

“Computer freeze playback,” commanded Geordi. Data gave him an odd, questioning look. “I think we’ve seen enough. Lore did something and this guy died.”

“I cannot accept that Noonien Soong would have so easily stepped in and created a duplicate of Tristan,” said Data. 

“Maybe their relationship wasn’t as turbulent as Lore led you to believe,” Geordi wondered. “It sounds like he was protecting him like a son; like he would have done for you.”

“I experienced their interactions myself. They did not get on very well,” explained Data.

“Maybe what happened with Tristan was the beginning of the end?”

“If this memory is accurate then Lore must have returned to Omicron Theta after we reactivated him and after we...parted ways.” Geordi thought this was an interesting way of saying tossed him into space for trying to murder the entire crew. “He must have retrieved his android body from the ruins of the colony. No one else knew to look for him.”

“It’s all kinda weird and creepy. Did Tristan stay aware for nearly three decades while trapped on Omicron Theta? And how did Lore know he would still be there? Also, why hide him? Even now when he was bending you to his will, he still didn’t confide that he had this companion.”

“I agree. It is all quite strange, but it may have had more to do with the effect of the emotions chip than anything else.”

“Maybe. I guess we could always tract down Lore’s final memory of Tristan.”

“When he died, or in the compound before our final confrontation?” Data asked to clarify.

“The more recent one. I’m curious as to how Tristan took to being abandoned and locked in that hidden cupboard,” said Geordi.

“Perhaps we should discuss what we have discovered so far with Counsellor Troi. In fact, it may be beneficial to have her review more files with us,” suggested Data.

“Agreed. This whole thing is way beyond my job description,” Geordi confided, half-jokingly.

“It stands to reason that the earlier version of Tristan may not have known he was an android. If that was the case, Lore might have removed his earlier memories to keep him from realizing that he was and thus causing a system wide cascade failure.”

“You mean it was an act of compassion to steal Tristan’s past from him?”

“In a way, yes,” affirmed Data.

“Then why bother continuing to call him Tristan at all?

“When I was re-activated on the Titan I had no memories of my previous life, however I knew without a doubt that my name was Data.”

“Hmm, so Tristan might have been ingrained with his name,” said Geordi after some consideration. 

“It would seem that some other things have been ingrained in him as well. His devotion to Lore is still a profound problem,” added Data with a hint of a frown.

“Yeah, but how do you convince the ghost of a dead guy to let go of the one person they loved the most while they were alive?”

While Data disagreed with Geordi’s comparison of Tristan to a ghost, he had to agree. They have never had to deal with an android that had been created by memory transfer before. He himself had no recollection of any of Dr. Graves memories from when the dying man had selfishly hijacked his body. So this was new territory; territory that they would need to tread lightly.

......


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan makes a final plea to have someone fix Lore. When new information comes to light he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Robin found Tristan sitting outside her door with his back pressed against the wall and his legs pulled up. He barely noticed her arrival and she crouched down to stir him.

“Hi, Tristan. You okay? You look like someone stole your puppy,” she said sympathetically.

“Not my puppy, my partner,” he said pitifully.

Robin stood up and observed him for a moment. She was doing her best to pretend that his ex was not Lore, but today it was slapping her in the face.

“I take it you don’t mean me,” she cringed.

“Everyone reacts like that,” he huffed as he stood up as well. “It is so exasperating.”

“Come inside and we can talk, okay?”

It was a simple enough request. No sense in airing their grievances in the corridor. Tristan complied and followed her in. Right away she was relying on her ability to distract him with sex. As she reached for him, he turned his back to her.

“Robin, I can’t right now,” said Tristan as he put some space between them.

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘can’t’?” she asked with alarm.

“It is not you, you are wonderful,” he continued to try and keep from offending her.

“No..no Tristan. I was asking if you said ‘can’t’ instead of ‘can not’,” she clarified. “Since when do you use contractions?”

“Oh. It happens now and then,” he said without concern. “Like my emotions.”

“Oh? It just happens,” she said with some reservation. “Are you alright? Is this normal?” She was trying to touch him again and he was feeling guilty about the whole thing. He wanted to move on, he really did, but Lore had been his whole existence. He just couldn’t let go so easily.

“You’re an engineer,” he said abruptly, taking her by the shoulders.

“Y..e...s,” she said ever so slowly as she tried to figure out why he was flip-flopping from pushing her away to pulling her close.

“Can you help with something, or rather someone?” he asked rather intensely.

Robin held his face in her hands before giving her answer. “No, Tristan. I don’t know the first thing about androids,” she told him with a sort of sadness colouring her words.

“Please try. Lore is already in disrepair,” he begged, kissing one of her palms as an added incentive. “Maybe you know more than you realize; and if not, what possible harm could you do to him now?”

Robin winced. She was more concerned with the harm Lore could do if she accidentally did fix him and he was free to run amuck. “Sorry, Tristan. I can’t. I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time seducing the wrong engineer.”

“No, I did not do that. I mean...that was never my intention.” he said, saddened that she could think such a thing. He was eager to regain her trust and he hugged her tightly against his body. “I did not have sex with you so that you would help me.”

“How can I believe you? What’s changed that you suddenly need to reactivate that monster?”

He wanted to tell her the truth that nothing had changed. It was always his desire to get Lore back. He was starting to think that maybe he would have to sacrifice parts of himself in order to do it. Surely they would be compatible.

“Fine. Then I will do it myself. Perhaps being an android will give me a natural intuition about how to repair one.”

“Data said he failed and—.” Before she could continue he pulled away and practically stomped his foot.

“Everyone relies too heavily on Data. I want to see it for myself. I want to do everything I possibly can for Lore. He found me when I was lost. He chose to share his existence with me above everyone else. I owe it to him to at least try.”

Robin pulled her hair back into a messy bun and took on an assertive air. “Fine, I’ll help you, but on two conditions,” she said in a no nonsense fashion.

“Yes, anything,” affirmed Tristan, filled with a renewed sense of hope that maybe she was actually going to follow through.

“One, I have to get Data’s permission first. He’s been charged with assuring Lore’s proper disassembly, etcetera and if I fuck up he’ll have my career.”

Tristan pouted again, but knew that she would be as lost as he was if she was tossed out of Starfleet. Especially since they technically barely knew each other. 

“I agree to your first term. I do not like it, but I respect it.”

She let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She had been so sure that he was going to disagree with her that she was subconsciously getting ready for a fight.

“Good. The second condition has two parts. I want you to swear to me that on the off chance we do save Lore, you won’t let him dictate your life anymore. AND if we don’t save him, you’ll let him go.”

“Basically your second condition is all one concern. You want me to let go of Lore,” he reiterated crossly. 

“No. If we succeed and you can work out a healthy way to still be in his life and he in yours, I will understand,” she explained. “But you can’t slide backwards. No more isolation and being controlled; got it!”

“Got it,” he conceded.

Together they went down to the science lab where Geordi and Data had just finished reviewing the same two memory files of Lore’s with Deanna. The trio of senior officers turned to acknowledge their visitors, surprised to see that it was Robin and Tristan.

“Is something wrong, Ensign Lefler? inquired Data.

Robin hesitated at first, but felt Tristan nudge her from behind. “Um, no. Not really. We’re here to ask for your permission.”

Data and Geordi exchanged a look, the recent knowledge of Tristan’s true identity fresh on their minds. 

“Permission?” echoed Data.

“I have requested Robin’s assistance to repair the damage done to Lore’s neural pathways. I want to be able to reactivate him,” explained Tristan.

Geordi felt like saying ‘over my dead body’, but held his tongue. He knew that Data would never allow such a thing to happen. Deanna felt the surge of tension in the room but remained a silent observer.

“I told you before, Tristan. Lore is beyond repair. He cannot be reactivated,” Data informed him again.

“Then you won’t give your permission?” Robin asked to clarify for herself.

“It would be disrespectful to Lore and to my father’s work to allow further tampering with his remains,” said Data.

“You are very stubborn,” grumbled Tristan. “In that case, I want to review your reports.”

“What reports?” This time it was Geordi asking the question.

“The ones with Data’s findings. The ones that conclude that Lore is dysfunctional beyond repair,” Tristan elaborated.

Everyone watched Data expectantly. It wasn’t like him not to answer promptly. His continued silence was not a good sign.

“Data, just show him your reports. I’m sure the captain won’t mind,” said Deanna, hoping to reassure her friend.

“There is only one official report, but it lacks the informative data that Tristan seeks,” Data replied after a long pause.

“I don’t understand, sir,” commented Robin as she studied her superior. “You did run diagnostics, right? I mean, there are reports somewhere?”

Data turned away and brought up some information on the viewer in front of him. Geordi was already analyzing it as Tristan and Robin moved in closer to see it for themselves. Geordi could tell straight away that he damage done by the phaser fire could quite easily be repaired, most of it was cosmetic. As for the supposed damage to Lore’s neural net where the emotions chip fused into his matrix, it was minimal and he could probably get by without it. 

“I know I’m the least knowledgeable when it comes to posetronic matrices, but I’m not reading this as dysfunctional at all,” rambled Robin in disbelief. “In fact, Data could have had him up and running again by now.”

“Captain Picard, Commander Riker and I have already come to a definitive decision,” Data interjected. “Lore is not to be reactivated under any circumstances.”

“That’s why the official report states that he is unsalvageable,” muttered Geordi. He would have had the same opinion if he had been asked, though he did wish that he had been in on their secret.

“That is correct,” continued Data. “I am sorry for your grief, Tristan, but I cannot in good conscience allow you to recklessly reactivate Lore.”

Data looked up at the other android from his seated position. Tristan was usually quiet since reviewing the report and Data could see now, as he observed his face, that he was devastated.

“Tristan?” 

He stood up to better meet his gaze, but Tristan backed away from him. He mutely shook his head as tears fell from his turquoise eyes. He turned and ran out of the lab.

“I’ll go after him,” said Deanna as she put a hand on Data’s arm to stop him from following. He gave her a curt nod of acknowledgement.

“Geez, this is a lot,” said Robin as she continued to process what she had just learned. “But don’t worry, I get it,” she added as she reached the door, “this is all super confidential.”

When Deanna and Robin were gone, Geordi got his friend’s attention. “Data, we need to tell Tristan about his origins.”

“How can we?” Data implored with dismay. “How can I explain to him that he was created in the image of a once living person; a person who was factually infatuated with Lore? He will never listen to reason.”

Geordi knew he had a point, but he also knew that Tristan might become more rebellious if no one was completely honest with him. “I still think he has a right to know. Maybe Deanna can explain it to him.”

......

Deanna followed Tristan. He didn’t go very far, stopping in science lab three. Although the Counsellor was concerned about protecting his trust in her, she was also apprehensive about what he about to do.

Tristan activated the lights and tapped in a key code. Deanna didn’t know if he was meant to know it, or if he had simply memorized it from his previous visit. The lock chirped and a very large storage container popped open. She arrived at his side in time to sneak a peek inside.

“Are you out of your mind!?,” she exclaimed before clapping a hand over her mouth. It was not a very empathetic thing to shout at someone. Her face burned red both in embarrassment and fury. “That’s Lore,” she said, stating the obvious. “Are you supposed to have access to Lore?”

The deactivated android lay within the stasis container. He was the spitting image of Data, peacefully in repose. Tristan barely acknowledged her despite her rude outburst.

“Tristan, Data specifically said ‘no’ to reactivating him,” she warned him harshly.

He looked at her then and gave her a warning of his own. “If you’re going to tell Data you had better run and do it now. In a moment I will be reactivating him and I won’t let you stop me.”

Deanna was taken aback. He didn’t sound vicious in his threat, only ‘matter of fact’. As though to say that nothing she could say or do would convince him to change his mind.

“Please don’t do this. You know I’ll have to report you,” she pleaded as she backed up towards the door. “It’s my duty.”

Tristan ignored her and bent down to reach into the depths of the container. 

Deanna clicked her comm badge as her back hit the closed door. “Counsellor Troi to Commander Data. I’m with Tristan in Science Lab Three and he is trying to reactivate Lore.”

“On my way. Do not engage either of them,” came Data stern reply.

Data and Geordi were literally down the hall and they really should have anticipated such a blatant act of rebellion. Deanna froze, a gasp escaping her lips when Lore’s head and shoulders appeared as he sat up inside the container. She felt like she was trapped in his holding cell again, dreading the unknown horrors to come.

Lore looked around him as though disoriented. His head was buzzing with so much noise and feedback that he was struggling to focus. It would seem that the damage from the fusion in his matrix left him with a hive of disgruntled bees in his head.

Tristan frowned as he watched his companion hold his head in both hands. “Lore. It is me, Tristan,” he said reassuringly.

“What?” murmured Lore almost inaudible. He wasn’t sure what was happening or where he was, or even who was talking to him.

Taking a risk that he could receive punishment from his master, Tristan leaned over and laid a hand on each of Lore’s shoulders. “Lore, I have saved you, just as you saved me,” he said softly.

Deanna’s blood went cold when she heard him speak to Lore with such affection; and it made her feel sick to her stomach that he could still hold so much devotion for such a monster.

“Tris?” whispered Lore as he raised one of his hands and lightly touched the other android’s face. “Where are we? What are you talking about? And what the hell is wrong with your beautiful face?”

Tristan was so happy that he hugged Lore about the shoulders. Lore rhythmically patted his back, but was still confused since he hadn’t gotten any answers.

Data and Worf came through the door at that moment. Data moved Deanna behind him, ensuring her safety before engaging his so-called brothers.

“Tristan back away from Lore. You had no right to reactivate him,” commanded Data.

“Data? What are you taking about?” asked Lore as he stood up and allowed Tristan to help him out of his ‘coffin’. 

Lieutenant Worf trained his phaser on them. “Stand down and don’t come any closer,” he barked.

“Whoa, calm down, Mr. Klingon. What’s the problem?” questioned Lore still at a loss for what was really going on.

“My name is Worf and you are ‘the problem’,” he retorted as he made a show of pointing his weapon right at Lore. The android put his hands up and furrowed his brow, seemingly offended.

“You kidnapped Data and his friends and did terrible things to many people,” Tristan muttered quickly, trying to give Lore a clue.

“Oh. That sounds like me,” said Lore.

“You mean to say that you have no memory of what you have done?” inquired Data, skeptical that he was being truthful.

Lore dared to move one of hands to massage his temple. “If my damn head would stop vibrating maybe I could remember what you’re talking about.”

“But you remember your slave?” asked Worf sharply.

“My what? What’s the oaf going on about?” Lore rebutted as he continued to look more and more pained.

“Me, Lore. They believe that I am your slave,” explained Tristan.

“That’s hilarious. Why would they think that?”

“Because we found Tristan locked away in a hidden compartment of your sanctuary,” replied Data.

“Where?” 

“This is useless,” complained Worf. “We should take him into custody and lock him in the Brig. That is unless you wish to deactivate him again?”

“You know, I think I liked the feisty blond security officer better,” whined Lore. “Can I talk to her instead?”

Data and Worf exchanged a look before Data gave a nod to Worf to escort Lore to the Brig. This was going to be a long day. Even longer once their captain found out about what happened.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I caved...Lore’s back...sorry not sorry.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin with an encounter between a younger Lore and a human Tristan and end with Lore in the brig.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a lovely, lurid summery scene to shake off the dark, cold December dulldrums :)

~~Flashback to Omicron Theta~~

It was true that their first encounter was brief and nothing special, but Lore thought about it often. The next time he found himself in Tristan’s company was far more interesting.

Lore could hear shouting echo through the valley. Though pitchy, the voice was unmistakably masculine. It was followed by a series of shrill famine shrieks, like sharp shards of breaking glass. 

“Tristan, you bastard!” screamed the woman. 

Lore followed the sounds of splashing and shrieking. With his acute android audio inputs he could isolate their origins despite the echoing. He came out onto a small beach on a secluded inlet. There was a thick knotted rope hanging from a sturdy tree and it was still swinging from when it’s passenger had jumped into the water. 

Another movement caught his eye and Lore could see someone bobbing in the lake. It was Tristan and he was splashing a dark haired woman who was sunbathing on a rock close to the water’s edge.

“That water is freezing! Stop being such a bloody arse!” the woman cried.

Tristan was about to try and splash his sister again when he saw they had a visitor. He disappeared below the surface of the crystal water and only to resurface once he had come close enough to the beach to stand. 

“Hey, there,” he called, waving his hand above his head. 

Lore recognized Tristan from the marketplace. He noticed how the water only came up to the young man’s navel, but as he waved with enthusiasm he revealed more of his lower torso and it was obvious that he was naked. The android’s modesty program kicked in and he adverted his eyes and began backing away.

Orla turned in Lore’s direction and for some reason she waved as well. “Hey, there handsome, don’t go. It’s a public space.”

“Come on, Lore, it’s only water. You can get wet, can’t you?” teased Tristan as he began to trudge out of the lake and onto the sandy beach.

Lore did manage to keep himself from walking away. After all, they were speaking to him directly and it would be rude to leave. However, his eyes stayed fixed on the ground.

Tristan picked up a towel and wrapped it around his waist almost as if he could tell that Lore was worried about seeing him in the buff, dripping wet. The thought made Tristan smirk. 

“Did I offend you?” he asked quite seriously as he came close enough to touch the android.

“No, Tristan, however most humans do not appreciate being observed without clothing,” Lore explained.

“Well, I’m not most humans,” he replied, shivering slightly as the breeze hit his damp skin. “Besides, I’m covered now, see?” 

As Lore slowly lifted his gaze, believing that Tristan’s body was now concealed under the sufficient covering, the young man opened the towel and flashed him. Tristan was ready to laugh at the android’s embarrassment, but Lore didn’t look very embarrassed. And as he watched Lore lick his beautifully curved lips, Tristan’s dick started to harden.

“Your mouth is positively pornographic,” Tristan breathed as he quickly covered himself again. He was still shivering, but not from being cold. “You ever use it to suck someone off?”

“Suck what off?” asked Lore, innocently as his golden eyes finally found Tristan’s jewel toned eyes.

“It’s difficult to explain; better if I show you sometime,” he whispered in response.

“That would be appreciated,” replied Lore, politely. 

“You have no idea,” he added with a wink. 

Tristan had other, more lurid responses in mind, but Orla was making her way over to them. She missed their exchange of sexually suggestive activities.

“Hi ‘Tristan’s new friend’,” she said precociously as she jutted her hand out—fingers lax and palm down—in front of Lore. “My name is Orla. I’m this weirdo’s sister.”

“Hello, my name is Lore,” said Lore as he stared at her hand.

“You’re meant to kiss it like a gentleman,” she nudged.

Lore took hand and turned it before kissing her palm. Tristan erupted with laughter. 

“That was the best!” he shouted with glee. “You should always kiss hands that way, Lore!”

Orla shot her brother a look. “Ignore my brother. He’s brain damaged,” she snarked as she took back her hand and wiped her palm on her wrap-around shirt.

“I am so sorry to hear of your impairment, Tristan,” said Lore, sounding like he was taking her insult literally. “Was it due to a recent injury, or an unfortunate birth defect?”

This time Orla was laughing. She even snorted once or twice. 

“She was being facetious, Lore,” Tristan pouted.

“Clearly, since you used that big word correctly and all,” Lore said with slight sarcasm.

The young man smiled mischievously. “Oh man, you had me believing that ‘literal android’ act. Wait...does that mean that you actually didn’t mind that I was naked?”

“I only thought that you minded. I quite enjoyed the show,” Lore confided with a smirk of his own. Then he leaned in closer and added, “And I will hold you to that demonstration you so kindly offered.”

Tristan’s face flushed as his dick twitched under the towel.

“What’s he talking about, Tris?” asked Orla.

“N-nothing,” her brother blurted before he turned tail and headed back towards the lake. He was going to need to jump back in the cold water if he was going to survive one more minute in Lore’s company.

~~End of flashback~~

.....

When they arrived in the Brig, Data had the misfortune of placing Tristan in an adjacent cell.

“I do not understand? I had every right to turn him back on,” he stated in his own defence.

“I explicitly told you not to,” Data countered with importance. “You have gone against the ruling of our captain.”

“Your Captain is an overbearing, inconsiderate asshole with a god-complex,” Tristan ranted. “Who is he to decide if Lore should remain offline? Who are you to decide?”

Data clamped his jaw shut and activated the field, shutting Tristan inside his new cage. It was difficult to see him imprisoned knowing how restricted he had been under Lore’s hand. He tried not to think about what Geordi had said, how it was possible that Tristan had not been abused at all. Or maybe he never saw it as abuse, rather it was just his way of existing. Either way, things were looking quite grim.

Deanna entered the room. She took a moment to get her bearings. She was feeling more in control now that Lore was safely behind a forcefield, however, there was a wide range of emotions coming from all sides.

Robin was now lingering by the doorway, unable to let go of the attractive young man she already felt responsible for. She was devastated by what he’d done, but couldn’t help but want to see it with her own eyes.

Worf was his usual wall of annoyance and arrogance, which was comforting in a way. Lore was all kinds of muddled emotion. He was definitely confused, but he was also giving her trickles of guilt and self-doubt. Not exactly what she had expected.

Tristan was as hard to read as ever, but she was sure that he was upset. Most likely disappointed by how Data was treating him and that he was already separated from Lore.

Deanna noted that there was one more person she was sensing. Although the guard on duty was fairly on edge, it wasn’t him. It was an almost undetectable, underlying anger. When she focused on the anger alone, she discovered—to her surprise—that it was emanating from Data. She could see both of his hands curled in on themselves and his jaw was set tight.

“Data, why don’t you escort Ensign Lefler back to her quarters while I speak to Tristan and Lore?” she suggested, careful to keep her tone calm and even.

The Second Officer broke his steady glare at Lore and softened slightly. “Yes, Counsellor. If you believe it would be beneficial to speak to them without me.”

“Just for the time being. Worf and Lieutenant Joffre will be here with me,” she said with confidence.

He gave her a reluctant nod and took his leave, taking Robin with him.

The superiority complex that they were used from Lore was nowhere to be found. He was sitting, looking quite defeated on the bench at the back of the small cell. He continued to hold one hand to the side of his head, as though he was suffering from a headache. 

“Do you mind if we have a little talk, Lore?” began Deanna as she moved closer to him.

“Sure, whatever you want,” he said distractedly. Then he made eye contact and narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m sorry, who are you again?”

Deanna looked to Worf who shrugged his shoulders. 

“My name is Counsellor Deanna Troi,” she explained patiently. “We met before; when you took us hostage.”

Lore shook his head. “I swear to you, Deanna, I don’t remember anything like that. But I believe you that it happened. Was I damaged, maybe?”

“Yes. You suffered phaser fire and Data forcibly removed the emotions chip from your head. The one you stole from Dr. Soong,” she explained.

Lore winced. It seemed as though something was finally ringing true to his mixed up memory. “Okay, fine. But I don’t understand. What is he doing here?” He was gestured to the next cell, meaning Tristan. 

Both Deanna and Worf glanced instinctively at the other holding cell.

“We discovered Tristan hidden in your sanctuary,” said Deanna. “It’s a good thing we did or he would be there still, alone and forgotten.”

“Well, you should have left him where you found him. Whatever he’s told you is a lie. He’s nothing but a compulsive liar,” said Lore with a hint of rising panic in his voice.

Deanna and Worf exchanged another look. “Tristan has said very little about anything,” explained Deanna. “He is actually your biggest supporter. He was the one who lobbied for us to re-activate you and then went ahead when we denied him permission.”

“What?” Lore snapped as he stood and got as close as he could to the edge of the field; almost as though he could try to see Tristan if he could just get close enough. The forcefield stopped him though. “You defended me?” he added with obvious disbelief.

“Of course I did,” responded Tristan without hesitation. “I missed you.”

Lore’s eyes filled with pity as he addressed his loyal companion. “You missed me? I shoved you in a wall so no one would find you.”

“You were protecting me,” he replied, clearly he disagreed. “How can I exist without you?”

The superior smirk was back on the criminal android’s face. “Yeah, you would say something like that,” said Lore quite coldly. “Even when we’re not together I can hear you in my head. Well, I don’t want you anymore.”

Deanna was not convinced of by his harsh display of cruelty. She sensed how much he actually cared about the other android. “He deserves more consideration, Lore. He believes that you gave him purpose.”

“My dick gave him purpose,” snarked Lore, causing Deanna to flinch and Tristan to hang his head. “I’ve tried to change him, but he’s a lost cause,” he continued. “He’s a complete psychopath; and coming from me says something.”

Deanna sensed the raw disgust in Worf as he made a noise of derision. She calmly placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to steady him.

“I suppose this is proving unproductive,” she said in hushed tones—even though lowering her voice would make no difference as to whether or not Lore could hear her. “I think it would be best to let Lore sit here for awhile. See how he likes being alone and forgotten.”

Worf gave her a curt nod before he realized what she was saying. “You want to remove Tristan from holding, don’t you?”

“It could be detrimental to leave him anywhere close enough to Lore to be berated by him. I have no doubt that he’ll lash out as he grows weary of his surroundings and frustrated by his confinement.”

“Hey...wait. No, don’t let him out,” Lore shouted as he stood to get their attention. Deanna couldn’t sense any deception as he spoke and she decided to hear him out. “He’s dangerous. Tristan should not be allowed to roam free.”

“He will be supervised,” grumbled Worf. “Not that we should listen to your advice.”

“Oh great...well tell the family of the person playing bodyguard to start making funeral arrangements now,” warned Lore. Then he grasped the side of his head again.

Deanna could tell that Lore was struggling with his concentration and it was possible that he was only making a case against Tristan to keep them from taking him away. As if Lore wanted him close for some reason; probably a bad reason.

Worf released the field on the other cell and Deanna took it upon herself to guide Tristan out of the Brig. She had no reason to believe that Tristan was violent. So far even when he spoke out of turn he had yet to make any physical threats. 

Tristan looked as though he was beside himself with grief. It was clear that this was not the reunion he had been anticipating.

“Deanna,” Lore called just as they reached the door. “You aren’t seriously going to leave me here, alone?”

“I’m afraid that I am,” she replied frankly as she, Worf and Tristan walked out through the doors leading to the rest of the ship.

“I still have you...nameless security guy,” the android called over in huff to the man on duty. 

Joffre was not playing along. He studied his console and did his best to ignore the inmate—even as he started to sing ‘Modern Major-General’ at the top of his lungs.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m thinking that I will keep adding in flashbacks with Lore and Tristan now that Lore is ‘alive’ and can remember snippets of their time together. Too much? Not enough? Any feedback is appreciated.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan struggles with his love for Lore and his sanity. Lore has a friendly little chat with Lt. D’Sora.

Tristan kept his eyes on the floor, watching his feet as they walked. Deanna kept a hand on his elbow to guide him around anyone he might accidentally knock into.

She got them back to her office and Worf stood outside the door; in case he was needed. Keeping the lights at a calming level, she invited him to sit down. He sat in same chair he had chosen before and adopted the same exact posture; knees drawn up, head resting with his eyes closed. Only this time Deanna could see a tear or two trickle from the corner of his eye.

“I know this was difficult for you, Tristan, but you brought this pain upon yourself. You know first hand how volatile Lore can be.” 

He opened his eyes and stared at her. “I know, but I just cannot help the way I feel. I love him so much it hurts.”

“I can see that,” she said empathetically. “I’m sorry that you can’t let go of him, but I think that you need to.”

“Maybe he is just testing me,” he muttered as he lifted his head with renewed energy. “Maybe he wants me to seem disengaged so that I can convince all of you to release him from custody.”

“I don’t think that will ever happen. Lore has committed some very serious crimes.”

“He had that chip in his head...he can plead insanity.”

Deanna frowned. She didn’t need to question Lore’s sanity. She agreed that he was clinically and perhaps criminally insane. What worried her was Tristan’s own mental state. 

“Tristan, even if Lore faced his charges and was given the chance to receive proper help it will take years, maybe even decades before he will be stable enough to be released into society again. And if Dr. Soong was right and there is a fundamental issue with his programming then his troubles are far greater than any professional can aid him with at this time.”

“Data could fix him...I think he could if he wanted to,” Tristan responded.

“Data is struggling with his own problems. I’m not even sure if he can cope with being in the same room as Lore right now,” she said frankly. She hoped that she could coax him into leaving Data out of his plans.

“Why are you being like this?” he snapped with frustration.

“How am I being? Explain it to me?”

Tristan stood turned away from her slightly. “Disagreeable! Every time I make a suggestion you say something against it.”

“I am only trying to be realistic.”

“No you aren’t. You’re being mean.”

Deanna stood as well and tried to reach out to him. She could tell that he was becoming agitated and more of his other personality was surfacing. 

“I am not being mean. I only want what is best for you.”

“No you don’t,” he retorted. He was facing her now, but pulled away from her outstretched hand. “You’re only thinking of yourself.”

“I assure you that the last person I am considering right now is myself,” she countered. “I think that maybe you should stay away from Lore as well. He’ll only continue to upset you.”

“You can’t possibly understand. You never have, Orla. You just think you know better because you’re older, but you’re just as hurtful and prejudiced as everyone else on this damned rock!”

“Tristan, my name is Deanna and we are on The Enterprise. I think you’re confused,” she said careful not to sound afraid. She watched him for further signs of aggression, ready to call Worf to intervene if necessary.

“I know who you are, Deanna. I do not know why I said that,” he replied a little shaken. He seemed to be looking around, trying to ground himself. “I think I should take some time and rest for awhile.”

“You’re welcome to lie on my couch if you would like,” she offered kindly.

“Yes, thank you.”

Tristan’s mood swings were baffling. He was right back to being civil and quiet. She started to roll around Lore’s words of caution in her brain.

“Do you remember when Lore made some accusations about you being dangerous?” she asked, careful to sound calm and detached. “Was there any cause for his warnings, or do you think that he was he lying to keep you close?”

A smile touched the young android’s lips. “I think he was trying to keep me close. He is rather contrary in that way. Adamant that he wants nothing more to do with me and then suddenly making irrational statements to keep me by his side.” He sighed with what Deanna believed was contentment. “He is so beautifully complicated.”

“Yes, and he’s not the only one,” she murmured as she continued to observe him. 

She picked up a PADD and began making notations. He seemed to be alright for the moment and she didn’t see the need to upset him further by pressing the issue. So she let him close his eyes as she started to piece together her thoughts on his condition. She hoped, in a way, that discovering more about Tristan might give them insight that they never had before about Lore.

......

Lt. Jenna D’Sora had a quick exchange with Lt. Joffre as she took over in the Brig. His advice, don’t make eye contact and never talk to the prisoner; not even if he starts to scream, swear, shriek, cry, or sing at the top of his lungs. Because he will probably do one or all of those things.

Jenna, of course, did let her eye catch on the android. How could she not? He was an exact replica of Data, only he was emotional—expressive. He was fascinating to her even if he was also terrifying.

“Hmm, you’re not the same blonde. Where’s Yar? She’s a real spitfire,” Lore grumbled as he watched her watching him.

“Um, do you mean Lt. Tasha Yar?” Jenna asked before realizing that she should have ignored him.

“Um, yeah,” he snarked, rudely.

“She died in the line of duty...years ago, I’m afraid,” she informed him.

“Oh, no shit. My dynamic brother didn’t swoop in and save her? Wish I’d known that priceless piece of information before now. Hmm, seems Data can keep a secret.”

Jenna didn’t know what he was getting at, but she didn’t particularly care for how he was looking at her. It was predatory and sexual; and even if she had fantasized a hundred times about Data one day looking at her the same way, it made her feel sick when Lore did it.

“How about you? You do have a similar physicality about you..buxom, blond,” he drawled.

When she refused to bite he tried poking her again. 

“Come on...blue eyes, stacked, strong...you’re just his type.”

Jenna kept her head down and her eyes on her screen. Now she understood and she hated that he had figured it out so fast. She and Data had tried to build a relationship, but it failed. She wondered if Lore knew about it, or if he really was guessing.

“No? You’ve never fucked my brother?” His tone was casual, but his words were sharp and painful to hear. “Thought about it, though...am I right? But poor Data was so rigid and unfeeling.”

‘Don’t engage with him. He only wants to create chaos,’ she told herself, internally.

“Well, I suppose in most cases ‘rigid’ is what a girl wants,” he added with a lewd click of his tongue. That was enough to finally get a reaction.

“What I want is for you to shut up and stop talking about Data. You don’t even know him,” she said with defiance, making Lore shut his mouth for a moment. “If you did know him, you would know that he is capable of more kindness and bravery than ten ordinary men.”

“Pshh, who cares,” responded Lore to her silly need to defend his dopey brother. “Clearly you haven’t fucked him, or you wouldn’t be praising him like a nun; you’d be wet and trying to come up with an excuse to sit in my lap.”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting,” Jenna cringed, a shiver of revulsion running down her spine and settling in the pit of her stomach. “Is that all I am to you? An orifice?”

“Several, actually,” he corrected with a sickening smirk.

“Go fuck yourself,” she barked.

“Tsk, tsk...that language doesn’t sound very becoming of a Starfleet officer.”

“Fine, how’s this then?” she rebutted as she came closer and squared off in front of his cell. “I think you’re scared shitless. Data didn’t even want to reactivate you and now you have to live knowing that your own damned brother would have rather seen you dismantled into pieces for research—or worse, destroyed—than ever had to deal with you again.”

“You’d better hope I don’t get out of this cell, Jenna, or I might take artistic liberties with that pretty face of yours. I hear you like modern sculpture.”

Jenna froze. His voice was inhuman, evil. She hadn’t even told him her name, but he must have heard Joffre use it. Or worse...her fears were right and Data had mentioned her to him while he was under his influence. Hearing Lore say her name just then was horrible. She wanted to vomit.

“I hope Data comes to his senses soon and vaporizes you,” she said at last, after fighting her natural instinct to run and hide.

“Sticks and stones,” he mused. “Data may be lacking passion, but the way he tells things you’re a real frigid bitch. Who breaks up with a person for giving them everything they’ve ever asked for? Me. I gave Data the things that he didn’t dare to ask for. I gave him real love and devotion.”

“You don’t understand anything,” she retorted, barely able to speak after hearing the truth fall from his poisoned lips. “You make me sick.”

Lore didn’t seem bothered. He narrowed his eyes and blew her a kiss. Jenna shuddered before turning tail and seeking safety behind her workstation. 

“Chaos, Jenna. He is Discord personified,” she told herself.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter. Lore is deliciously cruel.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin gets a pep-talk of sorts from Sonya. Data finds Jenna standing outside the Brig.

Robin paced back and forth in her quarters. She was so agitated that she couldn’t keep still. In an ideal scenario she would go and vent to Counsellor Troi. She just couldn’t cope with her decision to dive straight into the deep-end with a synthetic man she barely knew. To top it all off he lied to her face and chose to reactivate his insane and murderous boyfriend. But Robin knew that Tristan was with Troi. How could she discuss her problems when he was sitting in the same room?

She flopped on her sofa and screamed into one of the throw cushions. As she stood to start pacing again, her door chime rang. 

“Come in,” she yelled much louder than necessary.

“You okay?” asked Sonya as she stood nervously in the open doorway.

“No, not really,” Robin huffed with frustration.

Sonya came the rest of the way inside and brought her friend to sit down on the sofa with her.

“I heard the buzz...Lore is back online and security is having a nightmare of a time dealing with him. I just can’t imagine how you’re coping. I mean, I know how sweet you are on that Tristan guy. So, this must be super weird for you. But you, ya know, didn’t sleep with him or anything yet, right?”

Robin, who was used to Sonya’s long winded manner of speaking, covered her face with a cushion again and muttered into it, “Of course I slept with him.”

“You did? Oh...well. Maybe he made a mistake. Not with you. I mean a mistake with Lore. Like, Lore’s a maniacal villain. So, Tristan will probably figure out real fast that he doesn’t want anything more to do with him. So, if I was you and I really believed in the guy, I would just make sure that he knew he could trust me. You know, that I would be supportive or whatever.”

Robin moved the cushion away from her face and stared at her friend for a beat. She wanted to laugh at her description for Lore. He was a ‘maniacal villain’ and it was honestly hilarious, but she was so upset that she just couldn’t.

She also wasn’t sure if she could be supportive of Tristan anymore. She told him that she would be if he could find the right balance, but seeing that hurt look in her lover’s eyes when Lore rejected him made her doubt everything she thought she knew about him.

“I dunno, Sonya. I really, really liked him,” she whined. “But seriously, what the hell was I thinking?”

“Maybe I could talk to him...like a third party mediator or something?”

“I think Troi would be fine, no offence. But I really don’t want to talk to him right now, if ever.”

Sonya thought over her friend’s dilemma some more. “Maybe you shouldn’t. Maybe you should just call up Wes instead and try to work things out with him. I mean, long distance sounds pretty easy when compared to trying to work things out with someone still in love with their psycho ex.”

Robin hit her friend hard with the cushion. “Are you insane!? Why would ever call Wesley Crusher!? What would I even say to him!? ‘Oh hey Wes I was just thinking about you and no I haven’t been messing around with your doppelgänger.’ Lord, what is wrong with me?”

Despite just having been assaulted, Sonya put her arms around Robin and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Robin. I wish I was better help. Maybe next time get to know a guy for longer than a couple of quick flirtations.”

“Damn it, Sonya! How do you always sound so hurtful when you’re meant to be helping?” 

“Hey, it’s not my fault that you fall in love so fast,” Sonya rebutted without remorse. “You laugh at my three date rule, but come on...how many gorgeous men have turned into douchebags by the time the third date rolls around? Too many if you ask me.”

Robin couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s simple logic. There was a truth to her system and if she had kept herself in check a little longer she could have avoided the torment she felt now.

“But he needed me, Sonya,” she pouted as she leaned her head against the other woman’s shoulder. “He was so vulnerable and lonely. I just wanted to help him feel safe and connected, you know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. And honestly if those beautiful jewelled eyes had looked my way, I probably would have thrown myself at him too.”

“I never said I threw myself at him,” Robin scoffed. Then Sonya gave her a look as if to say that she knew her all too well. “Okay, fine. I did. And you’re welcome...I get to feel shitty instead of you.”

“Thank you...? squeaked Sonya, unsure if it was the right response.

“Good grief,” moaned Robin, “I just don’t want to be alone right now. I might lose my resolve and try to see him.”

“I can stay. I mean, what are friends for if not to keep them from further ruining their lives?”

“Sonya, you’re doing it again.”

“Oh, sorry,” said Sonya.

......

Data was perplexed to find Lt. D’Sora standing outside of the Brig’s exterior doors. Then he heard it; Lore‘s unmistakable voice—singing at the top of his lungs.

“Is that ‘Patricia the Stripper’ by Chris de Burgh he is singing?” Data asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“Sure is,” replied Jenna with a heavy sigh. “This is the eighth time and the loudest yet.”

“I do not understand, why are you standing out here in the corridor, Ms D’Sora?”

“Because my head would literally split in two if I was in there,” she explained as she gestured with her thumb at the doors. She tried to ignore that he had just spoken to her so formally. She decided that it was only natural for him since he was her superior and they were barely even friends these days.

“Please tell me that you are not the officer on duty,” said Data with a guilty air.

“Why yes I am, sir,” she said a sickening sweetness. “And it has been an utter delight getting to know your brother. Especially how you and he really bonded over intimate chats about your past girlfriends...oh wait, I guess there was only me.”

“Jenna, I am so—”

She cut him off. “Sorry? Oh you’re sorry? How could you? Lore is a maniac. I’m actually glad that he’s singing. It means that he isn’t talking. You should have have heard what he said to me.”

“What did he say to you?” Data dared to ask.

“I’m not going to repeat it because I’m trying to pretend I never heard it in the first place. But it was truly disturbing and basically a threat to my person, if not my life.”

“Jenna, I know that it sounds meaningless, but I am sorry. I was not quite myself when I told him about you.”

“Oh? And who are you now? How could you subject anyone to that...that monster!? If you won’t shut him back off at least have the decency to take responsibility for him and stand guard yourself.”

“I should not be alone with him.”

“Why? What could he do to you now?”

It was a valid question; one he didn’t have an answer to. Lore no longer possessed the emotions chip and he was locked behind a forcefield. It would be helpful to get more information about Tristan as well. But he just couldn’t face his brother. Not alone.

“I suppose he cannot harm me, however...the captain has not weighed in on protocols just yet.”

It was a lousy excuse and Jenna saw right through it. “You know what? You sound like a coward,” she said with distain.

“And you sound insubordinate, Lt. D’Sora,” he countered sharply. If Jenna didn’t know him better she would have believed that he sounded pissed-off at her. “Now perform your duties, or I will have to site you for abandoning your post.”

“Site away, Commander,” she said firmly. “There is no way in hell that I’m going back in there.”

She started to walk away from him and he caught her arm. She looked down at his hand before meeting his predatory gaze. It was all too Lore-like and she didn’t appreciate the feeling of déjà vu she was getting from him.

“What are you doing? Let me go,” she demanded, a sliver of fear in her voice. 

Normally Data would have released his hold immediately, but his hand wouldn’t obey. He could hear the tremble in her words and feel the quickening of her pulse under his firm grip. It stirred something in him; something beyond the anger that refused to go away. It was pleasure—such as he hadn’t felt since Picard broke Lore’s hold on him. Suddenly it wasn’t just his hands doing things without his permission, but his whole body was reacting to her fear of him and it was intoxicating.

“Data, stop it; why are you looking at me like that?” she pleaded.

The android pulled on her arm and flung her against the closed doors. Then he was on her, mashing his mouth on hers and pressing his body against her, pinning her in place. At first she fought against him, but she quickly stopped hitting him and gripped his uniform to greedily pull him into her. 

One of his hands was in her hair and the other was squeezing her ass and lifting her to grind against his very noticeable erection. Jenna had never experienced him so emotional, or aroused before and despite knowing how absolutely wrong it all was, she never wanted it to end.

There was a weapons locker close by, and as they heard Lore hit the chorus for third time “with a swing of her hips...she started to strip,” they tumbled along the wall; somehow unlocked the secure door; and disappeared into the locker.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I wasn’t expecting it even when I wrote it. Surprise.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geordi has an interesting look into Lore’s memories. Data confides in him about what happened with Jenna.

Geordi knew that he had no business reviewing Lore’s memory files now that the android was conscious. But he couldn’t help his curiosity. He had the computer look up an early one with Data. He only wanted to see how the brothers got along before Data’s memory had been wiped; before the colony was destroyed.

On the screen he could see Data from Lore’s perspective. He was wearing a teal and grey track suit of sorts. He was standing at a table in what looked like someone’s home. He supposed that Dr. Soong had to have lived somewhere other than his lab and it was probably his home.

“What are you doing, little brother?” Lore called as he approached.

Data was clearly arranging some flowers in a vase. Though he didn’t have them all turned with their blooms the right way up.

“Father says that Juliana likes flowers. Bouquets are often symbolic of romantic intension, however they can also be gifts on celebratory occasions,” Data rambled.

“Oh yeah and what are you hoping to celebrate?” Lore asked as he started to correct some of the misplaced flowers and flip them right side up.

“Father intends to ask her to marry him and I want to encourage her to accept. I know that she is sometimes wary of us and I thought a bouquet might put her at ease.”

“Okay...two things, kid. One—dad would never ask anyone to marry him. Two—Julie’s scared of me, not you.”

“That is why I plan to infer that we both got her the flowers,” Data confided.

“Yeah, well...don’t do me any favours, Data. I don’t give a fuck if she doesn’t like me.” He proceeded to take one of the flowers and popped off it’s head, crumpling it in his hand for emphasis.

“Lore, why must you be so crass? It is good to make friends and be pleasing to others.”

“Sure and become their slaves,” snarked Lore. “Data, never forget that you have the right to not like someone and to feel that you’re more important than they are.”

“Father has assured me that we are not designed to allow ourselves to become slaves. Our ethical programming inhibits this. And you know very well that I cannot ‘feel’ anything. My self-worth is determined by my usefulness and productivity.”

“No it isn’t,” groaned Lore. “You are worth so much more than a thousand organic lives put together. You have nothing to prove, just existing is enough.”

“‘Just existing’ sounds rather counterintuitive,” rebutted Data.

“Fine...then look at it this way. Find something that interests you. Be selfish once in awhile. Be bold, be lazy, be who you want to be. You don’t have to be what dad tells you to be, or behave in a way just so norms like Juliana accept you.”

“But it is good to be obedient and accepted. Besides, Juliana is helping me to develop my artistic programming. She is teaching me musicality and visual theory.”

Lore made a face as if to show how horrible that sounded to him. “Talking to you, brother, is like beating my head against a brick wall. You know that right?”

Data tilted his head as he considered the concept. “No. I did not know this. How unpleasant. How can I make conversing with you more appealing?”

Lore reached out a hand and touched Data’s face. “Just think about what I said...really let it sink in. Don’t just dismiss me because father dearest tells you to.”

“I will, Lore. I will give your ideas some thought.”

Geordi could tell that the elder android was hugging Data now. “Damn I love you, you dumb, simple kid. Don’t ever change.”

“But Lore...you just asked me to change in my patterns of thinking and behaviour,” Data retorted with concern. “Which is it? Should I heed your advice, or should I never change?”

Lore snickered at his poor brother trying to grasp too many notions at once. “It’s okay. Just consider the concepts I gave you. I was speaking rhetorically just now. Change is good.”

Data nodded slowly as he smiled ever so slightly. 

“Wow, Lore being a good brother is a trip,” commented Geordi as he stopped the playback. 

As the screen went dark, ‘present day’ Data rushed into the room.

“What’s wrong? Please tell me Lore is still locked in the Brig,” Geordi whined.

“Yes, of course he is, though I really should just terminate him. The simple idea of knowing he exists is driving me to distraction,” Data ranted as he paced in the small space.

Geordi recalled Lore’s comment about existing. It was a strange coincidence to say the least, but he doubted that Lore would be okay with having his life ‘switched off’ again. 

“Hey Data. You sound kinda weird...like you’re freaking out.”

The android stopped right in front of his friend and covered his face with his hands. “I am Geordi. I believe that I am freaking out,” he mumbled.

“Whoa, what? What’s wrong? Break it down for me.”

Data peaked out from behind his fingers before dropping his hands away. Then he sat down next to Geordi and stared at his hands. “I believe that I just had an emotion episode,” he confided.

“Oh wow...without the emotions chip and without Lore’s influence?”

“I believe so,” said Data. Then he made a mental note about looking into the possibility that Lore could still be sending him a hint of emotional influence. “Perhaps my own neural pathways are beginning to mimic the effects of the outside stimulus I was given.”

“Could be. Tell me more about the episode,” Geordi said with encouragement.

“It is not good,” Data said, unsure of how to actually tell him about what happened.

“Data, what you did to me wasn’t good. Surely you didn’t do anything so awful.”

“No...and I am still truly sorry for the pain and mental anguish I inflicted on you, Geordi,” he said with utmost sincerity.

“I know, Data. I didn’t say that to get another apology, I’ve already forgiven you,” his friend replied adamantly.

“Of course. Though it does not change the fact that I will continue to ask for your forgiveness.”

“You know that’s completely illogical and irrational, don’t you?”

“I suppose, but that is how I...” Data trailed off and furrowed his brow in contemplation.

“Feel?” finished Geordi with skepticism. 

Data shrugged at a loss for how else to express himself.

“What did you do? Why were you freaking out?” Geordi asked again to try and get them back on track.

“Jenna D’Sora and I got into an argument,” he explained. “I became...angry.”

“Okay, well...you’ve sort of been on edge since you found Tristan. And now with Lore around I guess eventually you were bound to react in some way. Is Jenna okay? You only argued, right?”

“No.”

“Oh, you yelled at her? Just apologize.”

“I did not yell at her, Geordi. I kissed her, rather violently.”

Geordi’s eyebrows shot up and his jaw hung open. “Oh, okay...well...I think an apology might still be the way to go.”

“There is more,” Data confessed as he cringed.

“Wait, before you continue. Is Jenna still alive?” Geordi pressed with importance.

“Yes, of course she is. I did not murder her,” he retorted with offence. “I already told you that I did not do anything as terrible as what I did to you; besides which, I would not be sitting here asking for your advice if I had murdered a fellow officer.”

“Ok, glad to hear it. So what happened after you kissed her; what did you do?”

“We had sex.” The android paused while the words sunk in. “Violent, dirty, mostly clothed, angry sex.”

“I got it,” muttered his friend as he put a hand up to stop him from listing more descriptors. “And...did you like it?” he dared to ask.

“It was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my entire life.”

“But you liked it,” Geordi pressed.

“I did. It was so wrong in every way, but it was so fascinatingly good.”

“Yeah...I guess what you’re describing is like breakup sex. You know, you got all riled up and had to get each other out of your systems so that you could move on.”

“I disagree entirely,” Data rebutted. “Jenna and I never had sex during the course of our relationship. Furthermore, said relationship ended several years ago and Jenna has dated other men since. Also, she ended our endeavour because I lacked the emotional capability she desired.”

“But she was wrong do that. She chickened out of a sure-long-term-thing because she doubted you. But, Data you are fully capable of intertwining your life with someone else’s. She was beyond lucky to have gotten your attention in the first place and I’m not surprised in the least that you got angry at her after all these years of tiptoeing around one another. Though I’m a little shocked that your argument went in the direction that it did.”

“After it was over I felt nothing again,” Data added as he digested Geordi’s long winded speech. 

“Yeah, but you were freaking out when you came in here,” Geordi corrected.

“Yes, that was new. I have never experienced this before.”

“Anxiety is a bitch. Welcome to most irrational part of humanity.”

Data frowned. It struck him once again how he tended to have a blind side for the pitfalls of being human. It was easier to aspire to positive things like love, happiness and finally understanding humour. He often forgot about anger, fear and anxiety. Worry was wasteful, but he was certain that it was not done with him yet.

“What should I do?”

“Take deep breaths, talk to your friends and when all else fails seek professional help,” Geordi advised wisely.

“Ah yes. But what should I do about Jenna...now?” Data clarified.

“Oh right. Talk to her. Make sure you’re both on the same page and that she isn’t getting ready to report you for sexual assault.”

“Oh...I had not considered that. Thank you, Geordi.”

The engineer clapped a hand on the android’s shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze. “Yeah. Maybe you should go talk to her soon...like now.”

Data nodded as he stood. Geordi added one more thing before letting him leave.

“Oh and Data...if Jenna decides that she isn’t upset and she likes this ‘new’ you...I don’t think you should continue to be involved. I mean, she didn’t want you before and this might just be a phase. What happens when you calm down and become dispassionate again?”

“I will consider your advice, Geordi. I value your insight and I will be sure to let you know how things resolve,” said Data as he briskly walked away.

“This is bad. This is very, very bad,” Geordi said to himself as he turned to log Lore’s memory into the computer.

....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this one. Poor Data being all anxious. Thanks for reading :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lore misses Tristan and recalls a happy memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose I should warn you that this is definitely explicit. It also gives more insight as to why Tristan is ‘built’ the way he is. Okay you’ve been warned. Carry on.

With D’Sora gone and no one arriving to take her place, Lore was alone. He finally stopped signing and sighed in the quiet, empty space. He began to wonder if maybe that Troi woman had been right. Maybe he shouldn’t have dismissed Tristan so easily. If he had been able to have some form of self control his paramour would be here now in the cell next to his. As it was he was somewhere else...out of reach. 

He lay down on the hard metal bench and recalled one of his favourite memories. One when their friendship was new and the boy was still human.

~~~~~~

The harvest festival was nothing but stench-ridden organics smashing up against one another under the influence of booze, too much food and the promise of sex. Lore was well aware that there was always sex happening somewhere at these damned things.

Normally the android avoided people as a rule and festivals were completely out of the question. Only tonight he just couldn’t say no. Tonight Tristan convinced him to meet among the crowds so that they could sneak off together, unnoticed by the Lore’s overbearing creator and Tristan’s demanding grandmother.

They made their way back to the empty O’Donnell family home. It was modest for a manner-sized house. Lore had never been in a building with actual wings before. As much as he wanted to explore and pilfer a souvenir, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of his new friend. The glow of the moonlight filtering through the windows made him look angelic, almost like a ghost leading him to a secret room.

Tristan barely managed to shut his bedroom door before running his hands up Lore’s sculpted chest and encircling his neck to hold him close.

“What are you doing?” squeaked Lore.

“Getting to know you better,” Tristan purred. Then he leaned into the android and kissed him longingly. 

Lore had no idea what was happening. He had never kissed anyone before and did his best to fake it. He allowed his programming to put him a sort of autopilot, hoping Tristan wouldn’t notice. He may have sounded promiscuous on the beach, but it was an act. He didn’t actually expect the curious human to call his bluff.

Tristan stopped kissing him after a moment and gave him suspicious look. “This doesn’t feel right. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” said Lore with a nervous chuckle. “Maybe this is just how it feels to kiss an android. Maybe I’m too artificial for your warm blooded fantasies,” he added sharply with offence.

Instead of arguing, Tristan took his hand and led him to the bed. “I was actually thinking that maybe you were nervous or something. Or...maybe you just aren’t ready,” he explained calmly.

“Oh,” replied Lore as he willingly sat down next to his friend. It was difficult to argue with someone so considerate of his feelings. “I’ve actually never done this before,” he confessed.   
He wasn’t sure why he being so truthful. He hated showing any kind of vulnerability, but he thought maybe it would be okay this time.

Tristan nodded. “I sorta had a feeling. You’re quite the character, Lore. You like to talk yourself up and intimidate people, but you really have very little experience with anything; am I right?”

Lore had half a mind to storm out at that moment. But then the beautiful young man leaned in again and tentatively brushed his lips against his own, causing their noses to bump. When he smiled shyly, Lore smiled too. That was when he realized that Tristan wasn’t pointing out his flaws to put him down or make him feel bad, like his father often did. He was genuinely just trying to figure him out and help him along. 

“Let’s try again,” Tristan whispered. 

Then he kissed him softly, patiently giving Lore the time to respond. This time the android was less intimidated. He let his programming inform him of what to do, but he improvised as well. He snaked his pale golden hands up the young man’s shoulders and kissed him right back. He even opened his mouth and let Tristan deepen his efforts. 

Lore never cared for eating, so his mouth was basically only used for talking...what a waste all that talking had been. The motions Tristan encouraged felt much like how he was taught to bite, consume and swallow. Only this was somehow very different. This was titillating. An explosion of delight that ignited somewhere inside of Tristan and burned all through Lore’s every sensory input. The word that came to mind was ‘Devour’; yes he was devouring him.

It was more than Tristan had anticipated and he began to lose control. The more Lore worked his mouth with his greedy tongue, the more he wanted that mouth somewhere else; somewhere lower down his body.

As the lovers lay on the bed, Tristan removed his shirt. Lore watched with anticipation as he flung it at the wall. 

“Kiss me more,” implored Tristan, voice husky and low.

“I thought I was kissing you plenty,” replied Lore not understanding what ‘more’ meant.

“Kiss me everywhere,” he panted.

Lore grinned. That he understood...that he could do.

He kissed Tristan again on the mouth and sucked at his bottom lip. Then he worked his way down his jaw to his neck. By now Tristan was trying to open the fastening on the front of his pants. Lore multi tasked and did it for him. Then the eager young man guided the android’s pale, golden hand to his hardening cock. He threw back his head and moaned as Lore touched the tip.

“All that from so little contact,” marvelled Lore, mostly to himself. 

Tristan nodded with his head tilted to the side as he watched in awe as his new android lover yanked his pants down to his knees. Then he came back up so that he could kiss and lick his way down the center line of his chest and stomach. 

As Lore licked the tip of Tristan’s leaking cock the boy came hard, unable to control himself. His cum hit Lore in the eye and Tristan continued to roll out a series moans mixed with elated laughter.

“Fuck, damn,” he cursed with self-deprecation when he finally returned to reality. “I’m honestly so sorry. Your beautiful mouth on my over-excited dick did me in.”

Tristan pulled up a corner of his bedsheets and wiped the offending fluids off of Lore’s face. The act was tender and Lore forgave him instantly. It was baffling how much he was willing to give to this one human boy.

“I forgive you,” said Lore humbly as he took the sheet and made sure to get all of it. He didn’t want to have to explain to his father why he had ejaculate in his eye socket.

When they began anew, Tristan was already naked and working on Lore’s clothes. His shirt was easily tossed aside, but his pants required Lore to stand to remove them. He stood for a moment in all his naked, golden glory, moonlight reflecting off of his iridescent skin.

“Your creator is one conceited madman,” joked Tristan as he openly admired Lore’s body. 

No reply came and a crease formed on Lore’s brow. He was distracted by something strange.

“You’re wet,” Lore breathed as he quickly came back down to lie with his lover. 

“I know. I’m drenched in sweat, I orgasmed pretty hard,” Tristan reminded him with a teasing air.

But Lore was still unsure that what he was seeing was only sweat, so he moved the young man’s legs apart to investigate with his fingers. Tristan shuddered under his touch. 

“You...you have labia,” said Lore with astonishment.

“I usually save that surprise for at least the second date, but I just couldn’t keep my pants on with you,” he explained, always the joker. 

Tristan had never really met anyone willing to see his hermaphroditism as anything more than a hideous deformity; it was his dirty little secret. Not that he had dared to tell anyone, really. Not since they came to the colony.

“Are you horrified? Tell me you’re not horrified.”

Lore was not horrified. He was the opposite of horrified as evidenced by the second level of the android’s sexuality program. His erection defied gravity as a new desire bloomed low in his body, his hips thrusting into Tristan’s thigh.

“I want you,” Lore growled with need. 

His message was received and Tristan spread his legs wide and pulled him into a very heated kiss. Lore slipped inside of his lover with ease. He’d spent hours considering how to approach anal sex. Would he use his fingers, his tongue, his fist; or just go full on penetration? He supposed that they could still explore this avenue in the future, but for this very moment his programming knew exactly what to do and how to move. It was magnificent; a feast for his sensory inputs.

Tristan’s whole body responded with every thrust. He trembled and moaned, his legs practically bent up against his ears like a pretzel. Lore admired the beauty of Tristan’s youth and his flexibility. He’d never wanted to be inside of someone like this before. He never had a use for fragile human bodies at all. But suddenly, as the urgency and pressure built up inside of him, Lore felt a small wave of desperation and he never wanted to let Tristan go. 

As Lore climaxed he buried his face into the space between Tristan’s shoulder and neck and he bit down, marking him, claiming him. Tristan hissed somewhere amongst his guttural cries. He actually almost missed the violent act all together, he was awash in overwhelming pleasure.

They both lay, side by side; both panting roughly as they experienced the aftershocks of orgasm. Lore wished in that moment that he could have collapsed on top of Tristan like any human lover, but knew that he would risk harming him. 

As his focus returned, Tristan touched his fingers to his neck. Remarkably there was no blood. It seemed that Lore hadn’t broken the skin.

“You bit me,” he breathed with mild alarm. “Is that normal?”

“Normal? What for an android, you mean?” Lore questioned rather hurt by the accusation.

“No...for you, you sex-crazed maniac,” he snarked.

“Oh..l honestly have no idea. That was my first time,” he replied more civilly.

Tristan propped himself up on an elbow and looked at Lore with affection. “Right, I forgot already.”

“You said it yourself. Everyone is afraid of me.”

Tristan couldn’t stop from kissing the android all over his face and neck. He couldn’t imagine ever being afraid of him.

“What are you doing now?” asked Lore skeptically at his enthusiasm.

“If this was only your first time, you have a lot of catching up to do,” Tristan replied mischievously.

“Won’t your parents be home soon?”

“Nah...and even if they do come home they’ll be so drunk and euphoric that they won’t bother looking to see if I’m home.”

“You’re sure?”

“Just shut up and fuck me, android man.”

~~~~~~

As Lore lay in his cell, with no one else around, he let his hand wander down to touch himself. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten about the damn clothes he was still wearing and the annoying codpiece standing in his way of finding release. He frowned and decided to just relive the memory in his head. The sensations were already recorded and waiting to be experienced.

......


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data goes to smooth things over with Jenna.

Jenna checked herself in the mirror before answering the door. Her hair was damp from the shower, but she was presentable enough; covered by her calf-length terrycloth robe. As the door slid open she smiled in a most beguiling way.

“Mr. Data,” she said, “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Pleasant? Ah, good. I was most concerned about our encounter earlier,” he explained. “Does this mean that you have forgiven my most unprofessional behaviour?”

Jenna responded to his question by pulling on the front of his uniform and yanking him inside of her quarters. Once the door was closed, she bounced up to capture his mouth with her own. Data couldn’t help but give into her demands, even though he knew that he should correct her misunderstanding.

“We should stop,” he muttered against her lips, unconvincingly. “This is inappropriate.” 

“I forgive you,” she murmured back and kissed him some more.

Data pulled away slightly and cleared his throat. “Jenna, stop. I believe that you have a boyfriend.”

“Frank’s an idiot. I dumped his ass last week,” she said without remorse before trying to kiss him again. 

“I am glad that you are not being disloyal, however I did not come here to make-out with you. I came here to discuss our transgression.”

“Great, let’s talk about it,” she said with enthusiasm. “For instance, where was this side of you when we were together? I mean, ordinarily forceful sex is totally not my thing, but it’s like I know that you would never actually harm me, so it was totally hot.”

She sounded like some sex-crazed teenaged girl. Not that he knew from experience of course. 

“Jenna, that was not me. I was experiencing a flare of emotions that is quite out of the norm and very disconcerting,” he explained.

“Oh, poop. Maybe we can try again anyways? I can pretend I’m all vulnerable, getting out of the shower and you can sneak up behind me and—”

“No. I will do no such thing. You are not listening to me.”

“Come on, baby...have a little fun.”

“I am not your ‘baby’ and this is not fun for me,” he said rather coldly.

“Fine, you don’t have to be a dick about it,” she snapped.

“There is no need to resort to name calling, either.”

Out of the blue she slapped him across the face. 

Of course Data saw her raise her hand and allowed her complete the motion by turning his head at the right moment. Otherwise, she would have injured herself.

“This is not going the way I thought it would,” he commented as he touched his offended cheek.

“Aren’t you going to punish me?” Jenna pouted.

When he failed to reply she raised her hand again. This time he caught her wrist and held her hand above her head.

“This is not a game,” he said calmly. “I am attempting to be serious with you and you are acting irrationally.”

He started to subconsciously clamp down hard on her wrist and she was beginning to look as though she was finally getting the message.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” she conceded. “I thought we were doing that thing you did before. Like when you started that dumb fight in attempt to mimic couple interactions. I honestly thought you wanted to continue where we left off in the locker.”

He released her hand and watched her check it for bruising.

“Did I hurt you just now?” he asked with concern.

“Not really. It’s fine.”

Data noticed how her robe had come loose and he could see down the front of it. Her supple skin was dewy with water, dripping from her damp hair. Ordinarily these observations were only pieces of information. Facts that would inform him to tell her to cover herself and stay warm as to not catch a chill. But for some reason her chest was mesmerizing. The flush from her forceful play and the way her breasts rose and fell from her laboured breathing was enticing...arousing.

He reached for her hand again. This time he was gentle as he brought it closer to examine it. Jenna had watched him stare at her chest and she was unsure what to make of this new development.

“I did not intend to hurt you, Jenna,” he whispered when he could see the red marks on her tender flesh. “You are so beautifully fragile.”

“I never meant to hurt you either, but I think maybe I did. You just didn’t realize it,” she added thoughtfully. 

Data decided that she wasn’t talking about today, she was talking about when she broke up with him.

“Is Frank really an idiot?”

“He’s the worst,” she said. “The other day he actually admitted that he wants the woman he marries to give up her career so that she can raise a large family while he advances his own career. So I broke up with him.”

“Jenna...you admitted to me once that if you ever met the right partner you would be willing to do exactly that.”

“Sure, because I want to, not because some man decided that I should,” she elaborated.

He had to agree with her logic. Free will was very important to him as well. “You felt safe with me, even when I was...ravishing you?”

“Yes, of course. Data I trust you implicitly.”

“I confess that I have never done that before.”

“You’ve never had sex before?” she asked with trepidation.

“No, I have had sexual intercourse before. I have never initiated sex before; nor have I ever wanted sex before.”

“Oh, wow...so this is serious. And here I am acting like a cat in heat,” she whined, suddenly embarrassed.

“You know, in the Victorian era there was a treatment for female hysteria that you may find beneficial,” he teased with one arched brow.

“Why, Mr. Data, are you coming on to me?”

He took her hand, still in his, tilted it and sucked at her wrist. Her eyes closed and a shiver ran through her whole body. She took a chance and undid the belt on her robe with her free hand. In an instant he lifted her off the floor and swooped her onto her bed. He kissed and sucked his way down her naked body until his head rested between her legs. She gasped when his mouth went to work on her most sensitive mound.

“Oh god. Data...yes!” she cried. 

She arched her back and continued to moan with her knees on his shoulders. She could already tell that this was going to be far more thrilling than the quickly they had in the weapons’ locker.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear that there’s a plot here somewhere. :/


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data reassess his resent behaviour.

Data sat with perfect posture as he observed Jenna sleeping beside him. He’d done it again. He had let a sporadic wave of emotion dictate his actions. Worst of all he felt nothing now. If only he could feel something, anything. Love, joy, happiness...he would even settle for guilt, or regret. Even his new ‘friend’ anxiety was absent.

He decided to carefully remove himself from the bed and gather his things. He had no reason to stay. He wasn’t going to fall asleep and he didn’t exactly want to lie there and run his dream program. He didn’t think that he knew Jenna well enough anymore. This thought did make him stop and consider it again. How could he have committed such an intimate act with someone he couldn’t trust?

Jenna stirred as Data pulled on his other boot. He was already back in his uniform and ready to make a hasty retreat.

“Leaving so soon?” she murmured with a yawn.

“I did not wish to disturb your sleep routine,” he replied. It was at least half true.

“I really don’t mind,” she hummed as she made her way over to the edge of the bed where he was sitting.

“As you well know, I do not require sleep and I do have other work that I can attend to during the night time hours,” he said softly.

She seemed to be ignoring him because she ran her hands up his back and messed his hair with fingers. Then she kissed him with all she was worth and moaned into his mouth. When his body remained mostly unmoved by her efforts she pulled back to look him in the eye.

“Nothing?” she asked as she tossed her hair over her shoulder so that he could get a better look at her naked breasts.

“I do seem to be devoid of any emotional response. I can stay if you would like me to,” he replied.

“No,” she sighed. “I don’t want you to stay if you don’t want to. That was the problem our first go around.”

“You sound disappointed,” he said as he watched her wrap a blanket around herself.

“Don’t worry. I’m only disappointed in myself.”

“Unfortunately, I am incapable of worry at this time,” he noted.

Jenna smiled sadly and lay back down. She nudged his thigh with her foot. “Go, on. Better take your walk of shame now when no one is likely to see you.”

Data had to internally reference her colloquialism. “Ah, I understand your meaning, however...”

“I know, I know. You can’t feel shame,” she mumbled into her pillow.

“Yes, but I was going to say that I do not believe that we have any reason to be ashamed. We are two consenting adults and we both enjoyed ourselves...or at least I did while I was in the throws of the act. Now, as I said, I feel nothing.”

Jenna sat up and inched closer to him again, covered by the blanket. “Data, honey, are you okay?” she asked sweetly as she put her arm around his waist and leaned into him in a half hug. “I’m sorta feeling like I should be concerned. Maybe all this stress and trauma with your brother is getting to you.”

Data was pretty sure that she was right. But he didn’t know that he should burden her with his problems. That was something he would have done if she were his girlfriend, but since it was clear that she would be reluctant to take on that role again, he kept his response detached.

“I am coping as best I can. There is no need to concern yourself,” he said plainly as he removed himself from her embrace. “I think it would be best if we continue as things were before. I do not want you to feel obligated to me simply because we had sex.”

“If that’s how you really feel?” She caught herself right away this time and groaned with frustration. “Argh. You know what I mean. If you don’t want to do the ‘us’ thing, it’s fine.”

“I thought you were the one who could not abide my lack of emotional capability?” he questioned.

“I can’t...but that’s sort of unfair, isn’t it? When we were friends I never held it against you. You just put on such a good illusion of what a boyfriend should be that I forgot sometimes that it was all just a show to please me. This is better, this is honest. Couples should tell each other when they feel like crap, or don’t feel anything at all. They should tell one another when they have work to do and let the other person sleep.”

“So...you would like to try dating again?”

“Let’s not call it that. Let’s just say that we’ll connect sometimes and see where it goes.”

Data did not care for those parameters. “You make it sound as though you only desire a physical relationship. I believe that I would prefer intellectual interaction over sex. Friendship and commonalities are more important to me.”

“Oh hon, you have Geordi and Deanna for close friends. So unless you want to start having sex with one of them you should really reconsider my offer. I’m not saying that we won’t come to be more to each other, but I need a man I can cuddle with and touch. It doesn’t always have to be about sex, but I really need the physical intimacies. You were good at those, you really were.”

“But you felt that they were fake because I derived no pleasure from them,” he reminded her.

“Maybe I was wrong. If our physical closeness held meaning for you then I was unfair to belittle your efforts,” she said as she put up her hands in surrender.

Data considered this notion for a moment. “I did become accustomed to your presence and our shared time together.”

“But you’ll never feel all warm and tingly inside when I smile, or hold my hand because you just wanted to touch me,” she surmised.

“That has not changed. Unless, of course, I experience another emotional onset.”

“Right...but you were angry before you were aroused...that can be dangerous,” she added as she hugged her arms around herself.

“I would never hurt you,” he told her.

“Not on purpose...but also not because you loved me,” she said quietly.

For some reason he was compelled to move next her and this time he put his arm around her shoulders. “Some people believe that I am capable of love in my own way,” he confided.

Jenna curled up into him, so much so that she was practically in his lap. She reminded him a frightened child as she buried her face in his chest. “What do you believe?” she asked, muffled by his uniform.

He looked down at the top of her head and contemplated her soft blond locks as they cascaded over her shoulders, hiding her lovely face from view. His mind suddenly filled with thoughts of Tasha and how he would have wanted to hold her in this way and hear her say that she wanted him to love her. 

He hadn’t thought of her in ages, but Lore had gotten him talking about her just before he exposed his relationship with Jenna. It was almost cruel to have these meandering, random thoughts now. Tasha had been gone for years and Jenna was alive, here and in his arms. Something tightened in his chest and a sudden, unexpected sob escaped his parted lips.

Jenna looked up at him in surprise. He had a tear running down his cheek. 

“Oh god, did I break you, or something?” she whispered, afraid of what was happening to him.

“No, Jenna. I do not think so,” he replied as he touched the dampness on his face. 

“Data...please stay here with me tonight,” she requested full of devotion as reached up to caress his face. “I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay and hold me.”

“I would like to stay and hold you as well,” he confessed.

She was so happy that she could scream, but she contained herself and only allowed a soft smile to express her delight. She rearranged the bedding while Data stood briefly to remove his uniform again. He did decide to leave on his under shirt and shorts; hoping it would deter any temptation to disturb their new foray into cuddling.

Once under the covers, he spooned her from behind and allowed her to adjust their positions to get comfortable. He noticed that she stayed awake for quite some time, holding his hand. It was decidedly nice. This time as he watched her sleeping he still didn’t feel anything, but he did trust her more than earlier. Their little talk put him at ease and made him realize that maybe Geordi was right. He had been effected by her decision to dump him and maybe now—just maybe—he could forgive her.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of those scenes where I didn’t know where it was heading, but I was so happy when it got where it was going; if that makes sense.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geordi fills Deanna in on what he knows so far about Lore and Tristan. Picard confronts Lore and (as expected) Lore is less than cooperative.

The following morning Deanna came to stand in the hallway with Geordi. With Tristan still resting on her couch, it was safer to talk somewhere that he wouldn’t overhear them. Worf volunteered to stand inside of her office while they conversed.

“What’s wrong, Geordi? Did you find something in Lore’s memory files?” asked the Counsellor.

“Not really. Except that maybe Lore might have been normal once,” he said with a shrug. “I found a nice little interaction between him and Data and I gotta say that Lore actually used the words ‘I love you’. It was weird.”

“He said that to Data? Seriously?”

“Yeah. I know. Lore always makes it sound like he hated Data because Dr. Soong preferred Data over him. You know, replaced him with a better model. But they were like real siblings in this memory. Data cared what Lore had to say and Lore was being thoughtful and considerate of Data.”

“So what changed?” Deanna prodded.

“I did some digging and the first time Lore really snipes at Data is because of Tristan; the android version,” he explained.

“What do you mean? Why would his being an android matter?”

“All I know is that Data is his usual inquisitive and accepting self while Tristan is alive. And Lore—he’s happy. I would go so far as to say that he’s genuinely enamoured with Tristan and even willing to share some of his experiences with Data. But all that changes a short time after Tristan’s accident.”

“Maybe Lore was having trouble accepting his lover’s demise. While this new android version is still the same person, there were probably noticeable differences. And even if he seemed fine with the change, if it meant that Tristan wasn’t really dead, he must have felt some amount of grief and sadness.”

“I think it’s more obvious than that. I think Tristan started to figure out that he was different and his emotional stability was out of whack. I found a memory file where he’s crying for days, but Lore won’t tell Soong about it. Another time he walks in on Lore talking to his sister and he flies into a jealous rage. If Lore hadn’t been able to physically stop him, Tristan might have actually have hurt her, or worse.”

“His sister’s name was Orla. He mistook me for her after we first returned from the Brig,” Deanna confided.

“Was he angry at the time?” asked Geordi.

“Agitated, yes,” she conceded. “I reminded him of my name and he realized that he was here and now and I wasn’t her, but it seemed very real to him for a moment.”

“Be careful. Since the colony was destroyed and all the records and medical history along with it, it’s difficult to say if she died with everyone else or before. I’ll keep searching, but this is one rabbit whole I will be glad to leave behind.”

“Can’t Data assist you? You two are getting on alright aren’t you?”

“Oh sure. Yeah...Data’s just so preoccupied with Lore and...other things right now,” said Geordi rather vaguely.

“Other things?” repeated Deanna.

“He’s...um...had a couple of instances of experiencing emotion. I’m surprised he hasn’t spoken to you about it yet.”

“Not yet, but I did sense something when he was confronted with Lore.”

“Yeah, he kind of turned his feelings on Jenna D’Sora,” whispered Geordi, secretively.

“How do you mean? Did they argue?”

“Not exactly,” he said with an expression that didn’t quite explain what he meant.

“Oh?” Deanna gave it some thought before her brain made the leap. “Oh! Really, Data and Jenna?”

“Yeah. I was just as surprised. But if I’m being completely honest, I was just thrilled it wasn’t Tristan he chose to mess around with. That boy has been trying to get Data to do some fairly inappropriate things since day one.”

“Well, all things considered I’m not surprised,” she noted with reverence. “I’ll find time to speak to Data. If not, I’ll make the time.”

“Thanks. He’s been through a lot and if these emotions are not going away he’s gonna need the extra support.”

“Hm, speaking of support. I think we had better debrief the captain on everything you just told me,” Deanna added after giving it some thought. “He was not exactly thrilled to be one of the last to find out about Lore being reactivated.

“Yeah, I still don’t know how to feel about it, myself,” Geordi told her honestly.

......

Captain Picard decided that he had avoided the inevitable for long enough. He met with Troi and together, along with Worf and Tristan made a visit to the Brig. He was curious to test how Lore would react to seeing his supposed partner again.

Lore barely acknowledged them as they entered the room, but couldn’t resist commenting. “Ah, look at all of you...and it isn’t even my birthday,” he snarked.

“If you think we’ve brought you your toy, you are mistaken,” huffed the captain.

“Toy? Isn’t that rather derogatory? Tristan is a sentient being, captain,” Lore said with feigned offence. “How you doing, Tris; they treating you okay? Need me to talk to them for you?”

A playful smirk pulled at Tristan’s mouth. Deanna could feel the his mood lighten and she wasn’t sure that it was a good sign.

“Look here, Lore. This is not a game. You are our prisoner now and although we will treat you humanely and with respect, you are still a criminal.”

“Really, you got down off your thrown to dictate my life to me?” Lore retorted rudely. “Why are you really here? What is it you want?”

“Answers, Lore,” said Deanna. “Why were you hiding Tristan?”

“Didn’t you ask me that already?”

“Yes, but you didn’t actually answer the question,” she noted.

Lore exhaled loudly and shook his head. “It was a safety precaution. I kept him safe from outsiders and outsiders safe from him.”

“It is rather ironic,” said Picard. “You hiding him behind a hidden door just as Soong hid you.”

Lore stood and growled. “No! No, it’s not at all the same. Tristan was still functional. If I didn’t come back for him he would have escaped on his own. Soong deactivated and dismantled me.”

“You mean that he murdered you and hid the body,” muttered Worf.

Lore paused and looked horrified; which no one expected. Then his eyes met Tristan’s and they seemed to share an unspoken thought.

“Don’t.” Came Lore’s single worded warning.

“Don’t what?” inquired Picard as he turned to look behind him at Tristan.

“He does not wish for me to tell you that is how he knew how to find me. That he was the one who turned me off and covered up my disappearance,” explained Tristan.

“Turned you off...but he didn’t kill you?” pressed the captain.

“No. He came back for me,” he clarified.

“Wait...you know?” questioned Lore.

“That Tristan was created using the consciousness of a living person? Yes,” said Troi.

“How? He doesn’t have any of his old memories,” countered Lore.

“Some of them aren’t as erased as you believe them to be,” she explained. She thought it best not to divulge that they had been looking through Lore’s memories as well.

“Shit,” the android cursed under his breath.

“Tristan is not dangerous. He is unruly at times, but he has no violent tendencies,” said Picard.

“Yeah, well...good. Whatever,” Lore said distractedly as he sat back down. “Where’s Data? Shouldn’t he be here if you’re going to be interrogating me?”

“Data would rather not interact with you. I’m certain you can understand,” said Picard.

Lore rolled his eyes at his statement. He understood alright. He understood that his goody goody brother would rather hang out with his pal Geordi than talk to him. He suddenly regretted not ensuring the man’s death in the final moments before his capture. He would just have to find another way to get rid him.

“Hey Tris, remember that Tacarpain with the stutter?” Lore said with an unsettling randomness.

“Yes,” he replied. “What of him?”

“I think Geordi might like that trick you did. Show him next time you see him, would you?”

“That’s enough,” shouted Picard. “Tristan, if what he is suggesting is an act of violence, or cruelty you would do best to ignore him.”

“It is neither,” muttered Tristan. He really didn’t care about what Picard had to say and would be more than happy to be useful to Lore.

“What did you do?” Worf asked discretely. 

“If you would like I can show you sometime,” he replied with a flirtatious smile.

Worf decided that he didn’t want to know after all and brushed him aside.

“Lore. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything at all?” Picard prodded, hoping he might get some inkling of remorse.

“Um, sure,” he said as he winced and massaged his temple. “I have a terrible headache and the buzzing of this forcefield is killing me. Mind shutting it off for awhile.”

“Fine. Be obstinate,” the captain stated, turning away. He was about to leave when he spun back around and came closer. “You know, Lore, we are debating the idea of shutting you down again.”

“Fuck you. Tell me something I don’t know,” Lore said snidely.

“Alright, it has come to our attention that your brother is experiencing emotion on his own,” he said, lowering his voice.

Lore stared at him blankly for a moment. “Data? You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie? I want you to know that Data is evolving beyond you. He never actually needed your help and never will again.”

“See that’s where you’re wrong,” Lore noted with importance. “If dear Data begins to experience emotion the same way I did, it will be here and there at first—little trickles. But eventually they’ll come on like tidal waves, drowning him. He needs me now, more than ever.”

“Then maybe you should reconsider your attitude. Perhaps you could show us some remorse, some sign that you understand that what you’ve done was wrong.”

“Is this some kind of sick joke? I told your Counsellor there that I don’t really remember what happened...some of it sure, but most of it doesn’t make any sense. How can I offer contrition for things that I wouldn’t have done if not for that awful chip in my head?”

“Strange, you seem to the same to me. Angry, unrelenting and argumentative. Oh, and arrogant, believing that you’re better than everyone else.”

“That’s because I AM better,” Lore growled with defiance.

“Do you honestly believe that excuses how you tortured and murdered people? How you held Tristan in isolation and used him for your own pleasure.? Does that sound superior? Hm? I think it sounds basic and evil.”

Lore stood again and took a purposeful step towards the field, causing it to jump.

“Stop it!” cried Tristan. “Both of you!” His rising temper had gone unnoticed until now.

“Tristan, are you alright? Do you find it difficult to watch them argue?” asked Deanna as she moved to comfort him.

“Leave me alone,” Tristan snapped as he pulled out of her reach. Then he walked out of the Brig with Worf close on his heels.

“Happy now?” Lore mocked as he gestured towards the door.

“No. Are you?” Picard countered without missing a beat.

The android answered by heaving another frustrated sigh and giving him the middle finger.

“Captain, we should go,” advised Troi.

“Yes. It would seem that Lore’s tolerance, like Tristan’s, has worn thin. You may resume your solitude,” said Picard as they started for the door.

Lore sat on his bench and began massaging his temples again. “Tick, tick, tick,” he said in a sing-song fashion.

“What is that, some sort of joke?” inquired Picard as he stopped, intrigued by his taunt.

“Oh it’s a joke alright...and the punchline is a killer,” replied Lore with a laugh.

Deanna hurried them out. She wanted a chance to catch up with Worf and Tristan. She was beginning to regret bringing him with them.

.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Lore is delightful. I hope everyone is staying safe and has a has a lovely holiday season. I might post a little more this week, but I’m not sure. Cheers!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We open with a flashback between Lore and Tristen. In the present things start to escalate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for depictions of graphic violence and sex.

Flashback to the sanctuary  
~~~~~~

It had been days and still no word from Crosis. Lore was losing his patience. It wasn’t as though he had a fleet of ships laying around with special Borg drives. 

“What have I told you about disturbing me in my office!?” Lore yelled at the Borg drone standing in the open doorway.

“You asked if we had heard from our bother, Crosis,” said the cowering drone.

“And!? Anything yet!?” shouted Lore harshly.

“Nothing yet, great one,” replied the pathetic drone.

Tristan cringed as Lore gripped the messenger by the back of the neck and smashed his head over and over into the metal desk until it cracked open. The damaged Borg’s ocular enhancement broke free and skidded across the floor before the drone sputtered and died, sparks shooting from his damaged tech parts. Then Lore dropped his body and let it crumple to the concrete.

“Why did you do that?” whimpered Tristan as he fell to his knees to see if the Borg was really dead.

“Get up! You’re as useless as they are,” Lore spat as he snatched Tristan by the collar of his shirt and hauled him off the floor.

“He did not do anything wrong. You could have used him for your work, but you wasted his life—.”

“Shut up!” Lore cried, cutting him off. “He saw you, didn’t he? I can’t have them knowing about you, can I? And since when are you so weak and whiny? I don’t care for it.”

Lore was right. His first rule was to remain unseen. It was his fault the drone was dead. He should have hidden himself when he heard the door. So, Tristan set his jaw and wiped his tears with the heel of his hand, accidentally smearing some of the drone’s blood on his cheek. Lore’s angry scowl broke into a delighted grin as he took in the vision of new scarlet paint on his lover’s face.

“Now this suits you,” Lore mused. 

Before Tristan could ask what he was talking about, his master was on him, tearing open his pants and forcing him face down onto the desk top. A shout of horror died in Tristan’s throat as he shut his eyes against the blood and gore beside him. When Lore was done satisfying his needs he slapped the younger android on his bare ass and instructed him to go clean himself up.

Tristan was careful not to let anyone see him as he crept through the hallway into the barely used washroom. He closed the door and locked it before turning the faucets and letting the water run until it was relatively clear. He stared at the blood on his hands and felt sick. Then he looked into the badly cracked mirror and could see multiple reflections of his marred face. He tried not to panic as he desperately washed the blood away, but it was too much for him to handle. Something was clawing at the back of his mind. He could hear a woman scream his name and he slipped down to the tile floor, holding his head in his hands.

It was later—maybe minutes, maybe hours—when Lore forced the door open and found him sobbing and rocking. He leaned over and wet a towel under the water that Tristan had left running. Then he shut off the faucets and knelt down to carefully wipe away the drying blood.

“It’s okay. You’re fine,” Lore soothed as he lifted Tristan’s chin so that he could make sure his face was clean. “I forget sometimes that you aren’t exactly you.”

Tristan seemed to be calmer as he regarded his master. “Who am I then?” he asked quietly.

“Don’t worry about it. All that matters is that you’re mine; and I’ll always take care of you,” said Lore warmly.

“Thank you, Lore,” Tristan said with affection. Though in truth, he wasn’t exactly sure that Lore was himself either.

“Of course,” he replied. Then they stood together and Lore checked his attire for staining. “Let’s get you into something clean. Then you’ll need to get back into your special hiding place. We’re going to have company soon and I have to be sure that I can trust them before I let you the two of you meet,” he explained.

“Anything you say,” Tristan responded, obediently.

~~~~~~

In the present......

Worf followed behind Tristan for a ways to see where he was heading. When he stopped on the crew deck he decided that he had gone far enough. 

“Tristan, I do not believe it is a good idea to visit Ensign Lefler. She is not pleased by the choices you’ve made,” Worf said with authority.

“Just let me ring her bell,” he begged. “If she refuses to see me then I will go with you.”

Worf couldn’t see the harm and he could see that Tristan was rather upset. If Robin could calm him down it was worth allowing him to try.

When Tristan rang the chime he was confused when Sonya answered the door.

“Tristan, what are you doing here?” asked Sonya.

“I am sorry. I thought this was Robin’s cabin,” he said in return.

Sonya looked over her shoulder before replying. “Sure it is. She’s just sleeping.”

“Why are you here if she is asleep?” he asked coldly, feeling suddenly jealous.

“Because I told her I would stay,” she explained. “She was upset and needed a friend.”

“Did you spend the night with her?”

“As her ‘friend’,” she replied, emphasis on friend. “Look Tristan, you seem like a nice enough guy, but she doesn’t want to see you right now.”

“Will you at least tell her I came by to talk to her,” he said in resignation.

“Yeah, sure,” she said kindly. Sonya let the door close and Worf began to lead Tristan away. 

As they got further down the corridor they could hear people coming towards them. Tristan had been keeping his eyes on the bland coloured carpet, but looked up as they got closer. He saw it was Data with a woman. She was laughing and holding his hand. Tristan saw red when she leaned up to kiss him. 

“Don’t touch him!” he yelled.

Jenna startled and they both looked over. Worf tried to hold Tristan back, but he wrenched the Klingon’s hand and easily broke his arm. Worf cried out in pain and doubled over, cradling his mangled arm. 

Data instinctively got between Jenna and the angry android. “Tristan, calm down. This is not like you,” he called with alarm.

“Who is she? How could you!?” Tristan shouted, as he stormed closer.

“Tristan, you and I are brothers. I am Data and this is my friend, Jenna.” 

Data hoped that maybe Tristan had confused him with Lore and his jealousy would dissipate once he knew who they were. But clearly he was mistaken. Tristan tried to lunge at Jenna. Being a security officer it wasn’t in her nature to cower, but she had a feeling that Data was her best protection, so she ducked behind him for safety.

“Stop this at once!” Data commanded. 

Tristan caught him by surprise and flipped the elder android over his shoulder. As Data lay momentarily on his back, stunned, Tristan chased after Jenna and grabbed her by the hair. By the time Data was upright again Tristan had her by the neck and was choking her with her feet above the floor.

Data couldn’t risk a physical confrontation. He knew that Tristan might just snap her neck. So his only real option was to put Tristan in his place. It had worked before. 

“Tristan! You are behaving like an insolent child. I am not your property; you are mine. You will listen to me and do as I say. Do you understand?”

Tristan slowly nodded as he looked him in the eye.

“Put her down and back away,” Data ordered.

The younger android did as he was told and put the woman down. Jenna leaned heavily on the wall and gasped for air, clutching at her neck. Data resisted rushing to her aid, concerned that it might only make matters worse.

“You are in a lot of trouble,” said Data as he came closer and took Tristan forcibly by the arm. He responded by turning and delicately touching Data’s face. Data sneered and turned his head. “Do not do that. I am very displeased with you.”

Tristan hung his head, but still appeared to have a wicked smile on his face.

Worf managed to overcome the shock of his injury and stood, aiming his phaser at Tristan. 

“I believe he will need to be taken to the Brig, Commander,” Worf hissed.

Jenna, who had also regrouped from her trauma, marched over to her superior and held out her hand for his weapon. 

“No, sir. I’ll escort him. You get yourself to Sickbay,” she told him. Worf didn’t argue. He gave her the phaser and headed towards the turbolift.

“Are you alright, Jenna?” asked Data with concern.

“I’ll live. Now let’s lock him up before he tries anything else,” she replied rather harshly.

“He doesn’t love you, you know,” Tristan told her sharply.

“I doubt he loves you either,” she countered coldly.

“Bitch.”

“Psycho.”

“Enough,” Data interjected. “Please refrain from speaking to Tristan, Ms. D’Sora.”

“Yes, sir,” she answered without fail.

When the next turbolift arrived, Deanna was waiting to disembark. She saw the trio and made a pained face. “What happened?”

“I will explain while we make our way to the Brig,” said Data.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay...not sure that this says ‘happy holidays‘...but here’s another offering.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of sassy Lore in this one. Enjoy!

Data tossed Tristan in a cell, this time he was far enough away that he and Lore could see one another. 

“Let me guess, he went off on someone?” goaded Lore with a bemused look on his face.

“Don’t start,” growled Deanna.

Lore tutted as if to scold her. “Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you, Counsellor,” he added with a smirk. 

Then his attention was pulled towards Jenna and the deep bruises already forming on her delicate neck. He deduced that she was the one on the receiving end of Tristan’s attack and he could easily guess why.

“That does look fairly painful, Jenna. Maybe my brother can kiss it better for you?” Lore continued in lyrical lit. “Or if you prefer, I could?”

Jenna cringed and stepped behind Data. Meanwhile Tristan shoved his body against the forcefield, causing it to spark and buzz.

“Hm, seems someone doesn’t like being put in a ‘time-out’. Kids these days, no discipline,” Lore concluded with an exaggerated sigh.

“You knew he would react this way eventually,” said Data. “You knew it was only a matter of time before he became violent.”

“Uh, duh,” Lore snarked. “It’s not like it was a secret. You were just being too sentimental to see it.”

“Why, Lore? Why is Tristan like this?” pressed Deanna.

“Why am I like this? Why is Data like how he is becoming?” said Lore with annoyance. “It’s just the way we were made. If you want someone to blame, you can blame dear old ‘Often Wrong’ Soong.”

“How I am becoming?” repeated Data with a frown.

“Your captain told me you’ve been having some mood swings. Sorry, but it sounds like you’re doomed like the rest of us Soong-type mess-ups.”

“Doomed? That sounds rather pessimistic,” grumbled Jenna.

“Well, insanity is objective I suppose,” noted Lore as he leered at her. “You, for instance, seem to have benefitted from my brother’s madness.”

“Data is not mad. He’s evolving,” she said with offence.

“What does it matter as long as you can believe that he loves you?” Lore offered snidely.

“He doesn’t love her,” snarled Tristan.

“Well no one loves you, you fucked-up piece of Omicron trash,” Lore yelled back.

“Stop it,” implored Deanna.

“What’s wrong Lore!? Jealous!?” Tristan shouted

“This is getting us nowhere,” Deanna muttered in frustration.

“No, Counsellor, let them argue,” said Data in hushed tones. He was curious to see them stop their pretences and have an honest confrontation.

“Jealous? Of you? Never. You’re a killer and a whore, Tris. I’ve tried to make you something better, but you’re beyond redemption,” lamented Lore.

Tristan tried to rip the bench from its secure fastenings. To everyone’s surprise it eventually came away and he began hitting the forcefield with it in a fit of rage.

“See, that’s why I kept him locked up and sheltered,” explained Lore, though he didn’t seem concerned at all by what was happening a few cells down. “If he runs on too long and thinks too much, he gets all whacky.”

“Can he break through the field?” Deanna asked, a sliver of fear in her voice.

“No. They’re designed to stand up against something like that,” answered Jenna. “But just in case I’ll increase the integrity,” she added as she rushed over to the guard station.

“Why *buzz* doesn’t *buzz-spark* anyone *buzz-buzz* ever *spark-buzz* take me *buzz-spark-buzz* seriously!?” Tristan shouted as he continued to rage and assault the forcefield.

“That might go on for awhile,” Lore groaned as he held his head again. His headache was bothering him again, although it was obvious why. 

“Lore, clearly there is something else wrong with him other than the usual programming glitches,” Data started with importance.

“Clearly,” his brother echoed back.

“Lore..?”

“Data?”

“Here we go again,” huffed Deanna.

“Fine. I can tell that you will not assist us,” Data surmised before moving away and closer to Tristan’s cell. “Tristan stop your tantrum. I want to offer you the chance to get help. If you stop and quiet down I will take you down to the cybernetics lab and Geordi and I will attempt to discover why you are behaving in such an irrational way.”

Tristan stopped mid-swing. He looked as though he was giving the offer some thought. “You could help me?” he panted.

“We can do our best to try,” said Data with sincerity. “However, you must promise not to harm anyone else.”

“Psshh, fat chance,” said Lore.

“I promise. As long as I remain with you, Data, I will do as you say,” Tristan said in agreement. He lowered the bench back into place and stood calmly in the middle of his cell.

“Data, no,” said Jenna as she instinctively touched her neck. “Don’t release him. He’s been in there for five minutes. Give him longer to cool down. He barely listened to you the last time you gave him an order.”

Data considered her reasoning and knew that she could be right. “It is possible. Perhaps you should rest for a while Tristan. I will take Lore to the lab instead and determine if I can assist him with his headache,” he explained.

Tristan narrowed his eyes as he glared across the space at Lore. “Fine. As long as you promise that you will help me after,” he grumbled.

“Whoa, wait. Time-out,” interjected Lore. “I don’t want your damn help.”

“No? Is that headache more pleasing than it appears?” Data retorted, with a hint of actual sarcasm.

Lore gaped at him for a moment. Shocked by his response. “N-no. I just don’t want you, or your blind buddy fucking with my brain,” he blurted rudely.

“Geordi is nothing but professional and the closest to an expert on the positronic matrix that we have. My ‘blind buddy’ who’s brain you forced me to damage is ironically your best option for finding relief,” Data ranted. “Though, we could just deactivate you, if you prefer?”

Lore was seriously considering deactivation for a moment. 

“Alright...for you, brother,” he said at last. “But this is only so you can repair the damage done from that chip and when you shot me.”

“I wish I could have seen you shoot him,” mumbled Jenna under her breath.

Data gave her a disparaging look as he took the phaser from her hand so that he could use it to escort Lore to the lab. She knew he had heard her, but didn’t look sorry in the least.

......

“Wait...tell me again why I should help Lore?” 

Data gave Geordi an expression of hopefulness akin to puppy dog eyes. He had already brought Lore to the cybernetics lab and had him all set and ready to go. He just needed to get Geordi on board to assist.

“Please, Geordi? He is in pain and despite his previous cruelty towards others, it is inhumane to allow him to suffer. Besides, once we are able to examine his positronic matrix more thoroughly we can try to amend his broken ethical protocols.”

“Uh huh...and he’s just gonna sit there and let us do all that?” asked Geordi with understandable skepticism.

“Yes, because I have set his body to a ‘sleep’ mode,” explained Data. “Only Lore’s head is functional.”

“Okay...I think I can work with that,” said the engineer with an eager clap of his hands. 

“Hey! Why can’t I feel my arms?” Lore shouted as they entered the lab. “Or my legs...or anything!?”

“I guess Data wanted to ‘disarm’ you. Since your whole damn body is a lethal weapon and all.”

“Oh good, the blind guy makes up for his disability with jokes,” snarked Lore.

“I’m not blind, I have a VISOR,” Geordi pointed out with offence.

“Whatever,” Lore added with a roll of his eyes. “Hey, Data?” he called in a melodramatic stage whisper. “Does your girlfriend know about your piece on the side?”

“To clarify—in this instance is Jenna my girlfriend, or is Geordi?”

“It doesn’t matter, Data,” retorted Geordi with annoyance. “He’s being an ass.”

“Well, we can’t all be as funny as you, chuckles,” Lore mocked coldly.

“Ah...in that case we will proceed. We will begin by connecting you to our computer with cables,” said Data from behind his brother. “Are you able to locate the exact point of origin of your pain, Lore?”

“Yeah, he’s standing behind me at my seven.”

Geordi stifled a laugh while Data looked confused. “He means you, Data. You’re standing at his seven o’clock,” explained Geordi.

“That is not helpful,” Data noted sternly. Then he clipped in a cable a bit rougher than he than usual.

“Hey, be careful back there,” warned Lore.

“Believe me, I am being careful. You would know if I was not.”

Geordi took a step back from the brothers. The hostility between them was predicable from Lore, but unsettling from Data. “Uh...why don’t we just work in silence for a while?” he suggested nervously.

“Suits me just fine,” said Lore. 

Data didn’t speak, but twisted another cable into the other android’s head. Lore flinched but didn’t comment for once.

It was a few hours later and Lore was losing his patience. He couldn’t tap his fingers, or fidget at all with his body, so he resorted to clicking his tongue and occasionally sucking at his teeth. Data ignored him, but Geordi was ready to scream.

“Enough, already!”

“Hey, the sentiment is mutual,” Lore remarked. “Aren’t you two clowns done yet? My headache was gone a long time ago.”

Data tapped a few buttons on the computer console and then nodded at Geordi. “Yep, we just need to disconnect and close you up,” confirmed the engineer calmly.

But that wasn’t what happened. Lore could feel a sudden surge through his neural net. His sensors were going wild, informing him of a systems reset.

“What did you do!?” Lore cried with alarm. 

“We told you that our goal was to repair the damage to your matrix. So that is what is being done,” Data informed him.

“No...no...No, this is not a repair! This is...this is a backup reboot of my fundamental programming! You lying, manipulative bastard! If I wasn’t so fucking angry with you I might actually be proud!”

“I don’t think it’s working,” commented Geordi. 

“Give it a moment,” advised his friend.

Lore suddenly closed his eyes and his face went very lax.

“Uh, oh...is that supposed to happen?” muttered Geordi with worry.

Data wasn’t actually sure and didn’t know how to respond. Luckily, Lore’s eyes opened again a beat later.

“Are you alright, Lore?” asked Data with concern.

“Yes, thank you; and yourself?”

Both Geordi and Data’s brows shot up and they exchanged a look. They knew that Lore might just be messing with them, so Data tried another query.

“I am well, thank you. If you are ready I will give you back control of your body and we will return to the Brig. Is that acceptable?”

“The Brig? Oh yes...I suppose that is where I belong.”

“Uh, Lore...Tristan is still there. You gonna be okay to see him?” asked Geordi, hoping to get a reaction.

“Oh...” was Lore’s only reply as he stared off at the wall.

“I think it worked,” whispered Geordi to Data. Data was not entirely convinced.

“Lore, would you rather not see Tristan?”

“Data, can you come closer? I want to tell you something, but it’s...It’s sensitive information,” said Lore in a small, quivering voice.

Data obliged and bent down with his ear close to Lore’s mouth. Geordi couldn’t hear what Lore was whispering so secretively, but by the look on Data’s face it wasn’t something good.

“What did he say?” Geordi asked discreetly when his friend came back over to his side.

“He told me to go fuck myself,” Data told him bluntly.

Lore erupted into a fit of laughter. “Oh please! You think daddy-dearest didn’t try that trick a couple hundred times before he realized it was useless!? I’m broken, brother...you can’t just flip a switch and kiss it better.”

Geordi exhaled sharply and shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever. It was worth a try.”

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to ‘fix’ Lore, but I’ve found I have a tendency to let him find redemption in my stories and I wanted to push his character this time. We’ll see if I can stick to it. As always, thank you to all my readers for sticking with this story ;)


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beverly sees to her patients. Lore gets told off by Data. It’s hard to say if it makes any difference.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is well. Robin finally comes back into the story.

Worf was eager to get back to his duties, but Beverly insisted that he take it easy. 

“It’s not everyday that I have to repair a series of spiral fractures in a Klingon humerus,” she told him sternly. “No heavy lifting, or abrupt movements. And definitely no physical exertion for at least forty-eight hours.”

“Understood,” he responded curtly.

“I hope so,” she added without humour. “If you disrupt the healing process I might have to intervene surgically.”

“I will wear the undignified sling and rest the arm, doctor,” Worf assured her.

“Good,” she said with a satisfied smile.

Nurse Alyssa Ogawa was just finishing the tissue regeneration on Jenna’s neck and Beverly came over to give the patient a last assessment.

“Good work, Alyssa. She looks good as new,” the doctor praised.

“Thank you, doctor,” replied her nurse.

“Can I go now?” asked Jenna as she rubbed her neck as though to test if anything still felt painful. “Data was meant to be doing upgrades on the other two androids and I’m very anxious to see how things are going.”

“My advice would be to avoid any and all androids for the time being, but I guess with Worf out of commission I can’t really protest too much.”

Jenna smiled weakly at Beverly’s warning. “Thanks,” she said. Then she hopped off the bed and walked out of Sickbay.

Doctor Crusher had been avoiding anything and everything to do with their android ‘guests’. So she really didn’t want to hear any more about them. If another crew member showed up with an injury caused by either one of them she would have Picard order them both off the ship. 

Robin wandered into Sickbay a few minutes later and Beverly wanted to redirect her right back out. Of course she couldn’t. It would be unprofessional.

“What now?” she barked, causing a few of her staff and the young brunette to jump. Then she took a breath and tried again, calmer this time. “What is it Ms. Lefler?”

“I heard there was an incident and a couple of security officers were injured,” said Robin, keeping her voice low.

Beverly sighed and shook her head. She recognized the self doubt in the other woman’s tone. “Yes, but their injuries have been treated and they’re fine. This wasn’t your fault,” she reassured her. Robin often reminded her of her son. Boy was she glad that Wesley was away at Starfleet Academy.

“I think that maybe it was,” Robin continued. “Tristan came by my quarters right before he lost it. I feel so awful. I should have talked to him.”

“Look, I’m not Troi, but speaking as a woman who has been involved with more than one sort of man...This was not your fault. If Tristan was ready to lose his temper and become violent it was beyond anyone’s intervention. It was probably for the best that he attacked people who could handle him. I hate to think what he could have done to you. Especially alone in your quarters.”

Robin looked disturbed by this revelation. What could he have done to her? She was of the mind that she could have calmed him and believed that she was the one who agitated him in the first place. But if the doctor was right then she needed to keep her distance. At least until he could be recalibrated, or whatever it was the android needed.

“Thanks, Dr. Crusher. You have a point,” said Robin followed by a heavy sigh. “I suppose this isn’t really about me.”

“I know that can almost as difficult a pill to swallow as when you thought it was your fault,” noted Beverly. “But it could be that Tristan is so much more mentally imbalanced than we can know.”

“Stars, I miss Wesley. He was so normal,” Robin lamented.

Beverly chuckled and gave the ensign a motherly hug. “Take a moment to regroup. Just know that no one is blaming you.” The doctor could no longer count the number of times she had told Wesley the same thing in the past.

“I guess maybe I still am...blaming myself,” Robin added as they parted. “Thanks for the advice and I’m glad that everyone is alright.”

....

Back in the Brig, Data made the exchange of one android for another. Jenna was waiting for them to arrive and she gave Lore a nasty look as he walked past her. He returned the sentiment and blew her a kiss. Data hit his brother upside the head.

“What the hell?” Lore cried. He was more stunned by the fact that Data could do something so out of character than by the act itself.

“Get in your cell and behave yourself,” dictated Data. “There will be no more shenanigans and absolutely no more singing as loud as you can.”

“Aw, come on,” whined Lore in response. “It’s so damn boring being stuck in here all the time. Maybe if you let me have a friend in here with me...” he added as he leered suggestively at Jenna again.

Data didn’t give in to his taunt this time. He simply tossed Lore into the cell and activated the field. Then he did something Lore hadn’t been expecting. He went over to Jenna, ran his fingers through her honey coloured ponytail and kissed her deeply right in front of him. Of course Tristan saw them too, but he looked away.

“See, you’d think that would bother me,” said Lore. “But I would love for you to keep going. Have at it! Fuck on the floor for me! That’s how bored I am!”

Jenna cringed and pulled away. “I guess you couldn’t fix him, huh?” she asked, stating the obvious.

“No. Whatever is wrong with Lore seems to be a concern with his hardware, not his programming,” he said before addressing his own behaviour. “I must apologize, Jenna. Perhaps that was inappropriate of me to kiss you just now,” he whispered.

The woman shook her head and kept her eyes focused on him as Lore continued to make rude gestures. “No, Data. You’re not the one being inappropriate,” she reassured him. Then she moved to her station. Data gave his brother a sharp glare of daggers. Lore went quiet and sat on his bench. Then Data released the field on Tristan’s cell. He was suddenly concerned by how little the younger android was reacting to Lore. 

“Are you well, Tristan?” Data asked with a hint of worry.

“I am functioning within acceptable parameters,” he replied flatly. “And I am ready for you to attempt to rectify my unbalanced outputs of emotion.”

“Good luck,” snarked Lore.

Data glanced over at cell. “I mean it. Behaviour yourself.” 

“Or what?” remarked Lore.

“Or I will be forced to terminate you due to irreconcilable dysfunctional defects,” Data informed him.

Lore sneered at him, but kept his mouth shut. He watched quietly as Data led Tristan out of the Brig. He too was worried about Tristan’s change in attitude, though he would often wear himself out and need some downtown after an emotional fit.

Once they were gone Lore turned his attention on Jenna. “Come on sweetie, let me out and I’ll show you what an android is truly capable of,” he said lyrically.

“Not in a million years,” she retorted. “Which by the sounds of things is probably what you’ll get as a sentence for your various of crimes. You know, of Data doesn’t turn you off first.”

Lore narrowed his eyes and smiled darkly. “You should be nicer to me.”

“And you should be nicer to Data,” she countered without missing a beat.

“‘You should be nicer to Data’,” Lore repeated in a mocking, childish tone. “Oh please.”

“Data was the only person in the entire universe on your side other than Tristan. I’d say you blew it—with both of them. You destroyed whatever trust or family loyalty he might have had left for you.”

Lore hated that she was probably right. He decided that she was an obstacle and the amusement she provided wasn’t worth her continued presence in his brother’s life. The first chance he got he would do away with her.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time. When I wrote this and the next few parts I let Wesley sneak into the story. And while I love the banter and interactions that happened it felt self-indulgent and his presence didn’t really move the story forward—in fact it made it more complicated. He was a distraction. So he’s out again. I hope this was the right choice for this story.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan regains his memories...some expected and others that weren’t...and some more traumatic than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for depictions of violence and murder. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I just wanted to warn my readers. Thanks.

Tristan sat where Lore had been not long ago. They went through the same motions and tried the same process of rebooting his ethical protocols. Unlike Lore, Tristan actually seem to benefit from the procedure. 

As they were getting ready to close up the panels exposing Tristan’s inner workings, Geordi spotted a empty slot.

“Hey, Data...this looks like a place to insert a key,” said Geordi. He went over to the work console and brought over the three black key cards they had found in Lore’s sanctuary.

“Which one?” asked Data.

“I dunno. I couldn’t decode any of them.”

Data took the keys and showed them to Tristan. “Do any of these seem familiar to you?”

It was a shot in the dark. Geordi thought they all looked identical, but Tristan nodded and picked one up. A moment later he picked up a second one. 

“This one. This one is mine,” he said with confidence as he held up the first key. Then he turned the other one over a few times in his hand before commenting. “Somehow this one is also mine. I cannot explain how, but it seems as though it belongs to me.”

“Would you like us to insert the key your are most certain of and see what happens?” asked Data. “We do not know how it might alter you.”

“Yes, I would like you to install it. I think it is something important,” replied Tristan.

Geordi put his hand on Data’s arm to stop him. “What if this causes him to crash?”

“If I were Tristan and I was missing my memories and there was a chance that they were on this key card, I would want them back.”

“Despite the risk of dying?”

“Would you not feel the same?”

Geordi wasn’t sure that he would. “I don’t know, but this isn’t about me.”

“You are certain, Tristan? This might be detrimental to your systems,” Data warned the younger android.

“Yes, Data. I understand, however I cannot live as half a person any longer.”

Geordi stepped back and let Data install the key. Tristan seemed to experience a reset, like Lore did. His eyes closed and his chin dropped to his chest for a few moments. Then he ‘woke up’ and looked around.

“Data?” he asked as he caught sight of the golden android.

“Yes, Tristan? How are you?”

“I do not believe that was the correct key,” he replied softly. “Or rather...it was a much older key.”

“Older? What do you mean?” pressed Geordi.

“These are not Tristan O’Donnell’s memories.”

“Whose are they?” asked Data.

“Arik’s,” said Tristan with a tilt of his head. “I suppose they are mine.”

“I do not understand,” said Data.

Geordi thought he was beginning to. “I think that maybe these files belonged to the android that Soong scrapped in order to accommodate Tristan.”

Data gave this some consideration. “That would mean that Arik was a prototype who was not allowed the opportunity to complete his development.”

“That would mean that Dr. Soong lied,” said Geordi. “He said in that memory of Lore’s that the transfer of human consciousness made it possible to disregard the programming needed for one of his androids. Clearly that wasn’t true...clearly he used another one of your predecessors for Tristan.”

“Or worse...a newer model,” added Data.

“I cannot be sure of how much of this is true,” said Tristan. “There are very few memories here and most of them are fragmented.”

“Does anything stand out?” Geordi asked with interest. 

Tristan’s eyes darted back and forth as though he was reviewing the files in front of him, rather than internally. “No,” he said after a long while. “Although I did seem to have an aversion to being away from our father. He called it a severe co-dependency.”

“Maybe that’s why you felt such an urgency to revive Lore,” offered Geordi. “You literally couldn’t stand to be away from him.”

“Be cause I love him,” countered Tristan.

“Still?”

The young android gave it some consideration. “I do not know. Perhaps if you will install my other memory card I will be able to form a better opinion.”

Data doubted that very much. In fact he thought adding his old memories into the mix would only make him less objective in his reasoning. But he had already agreed to help him, so he removed the first key—the memories already downloaded—and inserted the second.

After a longer pause Tristan reopened his eyes. This time he seemed to be fascinated by his hands. 

“Now how are you?” prodded Data.

“Weird...can a person say that they feel weird?” Tristan wondered out loud as he proceeded to stand and checked himself over.

“Hey, his voice is different,” noted Geordi. “It’s like it was in the memory files.”

Before Data could reply Tristan was hugging him. Then he hugged Geordi, briefly lifting him off the floor.

“Thanks boys! I feel so much better! It’s like comin’ outta a waking nightmare!”

“You are shouting,” said Data with a grimace.

“Oh, sorry friends. Just got excited is all,” said Tristan in a much more appeasing volume.

“So...do you remember your old life?” Geordi risked asking.

“Yeah...I guess. It’s strange though...I don’t know why Lore took my memories.”

“Nothing stands out? There’s nothing obvious?”

Tristan gave it some thought. He took on a familiar pensive expression as he reviewed some of his newly restored memories. Then he suddenly froze and crumpled to the floor; his hands over his mouth as he broke down in messy sobs.

Data rushed over to comfort him. “What is it? What do you remember?”

“Orla...my sister,” he said through his emotional turmoil. “I...I...killed her.”

Data looked up at Geordi and the two friends didn’t know what to do. This was definitely an unexpected turn of events.

~~~~~~(Flashback to Omicron Theta)~~~~~~~

Tristan came home late from the lake. He was laughing at himself because he hadn’t realized that he lacked buoyancy and would be picking marine plants out of his synthetic crevices for days.

He saw the light on in his sister’s painting studio out around the back of the property. He b-lined towards; so could tell her of his stupidity. She knew by now that he wasn’t human and he thought she would get a kick out of his story.

“Orla, you’ll never guess!” he said loudly as he let himself in. “I sank right into the silt. I thought I was gonna be stuck down at the bottom of the lake forever...”

He stopped talking when he realized that his sister wasn’t alone. Lore was there and they looked as though he had just caught them doing something quite intimate. Why else would his boyfriend’s arm be around his sister’s shoulders?

“This isn’t what you think,” Orla told her brother.

“Lore is mine!” he yelled possessively as he stalked over to the pair.

“You misunderstand,” Lore tried to say.

“We were just worried about you,” said his sister as she stood to confront him.

“No you weren’t, you were thinking only of yourself! I see how you look at him! Well, you can’t have him!”

“Tristan, no!” Orla shrieked as her brother backhanded her across the face, fracturing her cheek bone. Blood dripped down her face and filled her mouth from where she’d bitten down on her tongue.

Lore couldn’t stop him. He was thrown across the room, landing on a pile of half finished canvases. Before he could get up again, Tristan had his sister by the throat. She barely had the chance to scream as he choked the life out of her. 

He had lost all sense of reality and managed to overcome his android safeties. Lore tried to get him to let go, but he didn’t stop and strangled Orla until she hung from his hand like a rag-doll. Even then, he continued on until they heard her neck snap. 

Lore watched in abject horror as the boy he loved murdered his beloved sister; his dearest friend. Gone was he beautiful light in Tristan’s eyes. Lost was the sense of playful joy and mischief. This was not ‘his Tristan’. This was some monstrosity of his father’s making.

“What did you do, Tristan?” muttered Lore in shock. He was so appalled that his voice was barely more than a whisper.

“I...I don’t...I...” he stammered as he started to finally relax his grip. Then he made a mournful wail as he held his sister’s lifeless body in his arms, hugging her tight while her head fell back at an unnatural angle. “Orla, I’m so sorry,” he whimpered as he finally cradled her head and lovingly kissed her bloodied cheek.

“She’s gone...you killed her,” said Lore as he placed a shaking hand on his shoulder.

“No...no...you can fix her,” said Tristan with desperation. “Take her to Soong. He can make her like me.”

Lore looked at him with pity. “No, Tris. You were still alive...your brain was still functioning when my father made the synaptic transfer. Orla is gone...her brain activity is nonexistent.”

“What? But...how could I have been dying if your father had time to make a transfer of my consciousness? Are you trying to say that I lived long enough for him to do that, but not long enough to receive medical treatment that could have saved my life!?”

Lore hadn’t really thought about it until that moment. In fact, he tried not to because he had had the same terrible concerns. “I don’t know. You were dying...he said to leave you with him and he would do everything he could to help you. He’s my father, I trust him.”

“And look what he’s turned me into!” Tristan shouted as he continued to hug his sister’s lifeless body. “Orla is dead; I’m a murderer!”

Lore gently kissed his forehead and then took Orla from him. He lay her on the floor with her arms crossed over her chest and covered her with a paint tarp. His mind was racing, trying to come up with what to do. Hiding Tristan’s accidental death and lying about his odd behaviour had been hard enough. But with Orla dead it would too much to explain everything now.

“Let’s run away together, Tris,” he said as he cupped his lover’s face with both hands. “Let’s leave all this behind us and start over somewhere new like we talked about.”

Tristan slowly started to smile, but then looked down at the blood on his hands and he started shaking and crying all over again. “I can’t just leave her here. It’s so awful,” he said.

“It will be fine. We can bury her by the lake and make everyone think she went with us,” Lore told him.

“She likes it by the lake,” Tristan said sadly.

Lore and Tristan went to stand closer to Orla’s covered body. Lore rubbed soothing circles on his lover’s back and kissed his tear streaked cheek. When Tristan turned into him and kissed his lips, Lore used the distraction to slip his fingers into the notch in his back. Tristan looked at him then, as if he knew what he was doing.

“It’s okay, Lore,” he said lovingly, “Please end this nightmare.”

And he did. With his switch turned off Tristan went limp in his arms. Lore lay him down next to his sister before sitting on the floor and breaking down in tears. The two people he cared for most were gone and somehow it was all his fault. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to live anymore. He certainly could never tell his father.

~~~~~~~(end flashback)~~~~~~~~  
......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is. Lore’s had a pretty tragic love affair and it’s made him sorta jaded. Now that Tristan remembers his past how will it effect his future?


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin reconnects with Tristan and Tristan is ready to say goodbye to Lore.

Robin stormed into the cybernetics lab. The ensign stopped in her stride as soon as she saw Tristan was unconscious. Geordi had his back turned to the door but gleaned the look on Data’s face and knew that whoever just walked in was about to cause trouble.

“Oh no, what happened?” Robin asked with some hesitation. She wasn’t sure that she was ready to know. 

“Tristan is in a sleep mode,” explained Geordi. “We inserted a memory key and he got...overwhelmed. Data and I were trying to decide whether or not to remove his memories again.” It was true. Tristan had become so inconsolable that placing him on standby was a mercy.

“Robin, I thought that you wanted nothing more to do with Tristan?” asked Data, calm as ever.

“I know...but I just couldn’t stop thinking about him,” she said offhandedly, “I feel so guilty about my part in all of this.“

“I do not believe that you are actually that responsible,” Data informed her. “Tristan reactivated Lore despite your wishes, not because of them.”

“Yeah, this isn’t anyones’s fault, exactly,” retorted Geordi harshly. “Sure Data found Tristan and brought him onto the ship. And then he spent all his time trying to figure him out; instead of taking care of himself and recuperating from his own terrible trauma. Then he failed to stop the guy from reactivating Lore; and going haywire and attacking Jenna. But it’s not really his fault.”

“It sounds as though perhaps you do blame me to some degree, Geordi,” noted Data with a new insight. “I did not realize that you were so angry with me.”

Geordi exhaled sharply. “Sorry, Data. I guess this is all still more than I can handle. I mean, you spend all of your time and energy on poor Tristan, which I totally understand. But then you get distracted by Jenna D’Sora? I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t go down that road again. She’s not good for you.”

“She could be, though, and until I know for certain I can not deny that I want to be near her,” said Data.

“I guess it’s your life,” Geordi noted plainly, not really wanting to argue.

“I am curious though. As my best friend...who would you see me with?”

Geordi wasn’t quite expecting to be cornered with such an odd question. He fidgeted a little and looked away. “I dunno. I guess I never thought about it before.”

Data gave him a suspicious look but seemed to trust that his friend was being truthful.

Robin, who had been standing there awkwardly pretending that she wasn’t, thought it was time for her to make a retreat.

“Guys, I’m sorry,” she said with honest regret. “I didn’t mean to stir the pot. I’ll get out of here and let you get back to work.” The ensign started to go, but stopped again. “Wait...did you just say that you reinstated his memories? Like Tristan’s real person memories?”

“And the ones from after he was activated as an android,” replied Geordi. 

“I suppose it would be expected...you know, becoming overwhelmed by remembering a whole lifetime all at once,” she said thoughtfully.

Data and Geordi exchanged a look. They mutually decided not to share the secret they inadvertently discovered. After more investigation it seemed as though Orla’s death was an accident brought on by poor judgement. If Tristan had received the care and program adjustments he so badly needed, the incident could have been avoided. Luckily Robin didn’t catch the concern on their faces.

“Is he going to be alright?” she added after a moment of silently studying Tristan eerily still features.

“We believe so,” said Data as he reviewed the diagnostic information. “Though, Tristan had a severe emotional reaction he does not appear to be at risk of system failure.”

“Yeah, but after how dramatically he reacted it might be better if we removed the offending memories again,” noted Geordi.

“What if there’s something in them that he needs to function properly?” Robin wondered. “What if that’s the ‘missing key’ so to speak?”

Geordi shrugged his shoulders and looked to Data.

“It is possible. However will will not know until we will have Tristan awake and functional.”

“I can help,” she offered. “I can stay and help Tristan focus while you do what you need to do. I mean, if he wants me here.”

They couldn’t know that either until they had him reactivated. Robin pulled up a stool and sat next Tristan. Geordi didn’t like how physically close she was. The woman wanted to able to hold her lover’s hand, but as her superior had to consider her safety.

“Ensign, I think you should wait until we know Tristan won’t react violently to your presence,” he warned her.

Data didn’t share his concerns. “Geordi, Tristan was not violent before. He was distraught. I have no objections to Ms. Lefler lending her support.”

The chief engineer still had his reservations, but since Data outranked him he crossed his fingers and hoped they didn’t live to regret taking the risk.

Tristan opened his jewel toned eyes and immediately locked them on Robin. He couldn’t comprehend why she was there, or why she was squeezing his hand.

“Robin? What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you,” she told him openly. “I know you’ve made some mistakes, but I can’t help from wanting to give you another chance.”

“You would do that? You could forgive me?” When she nodded he couldn’t stop himself from hugging her. “I was wrong to reactivate Lore,” he confided, “I was so wrong about so many things.”

“The important thing is that you understand this now,” offered Data. “I believe that you can have a chance at a more balanced and acceptable existence free of Lore’s hold on you.”

Tristan was conflicted. “What if am I only replacing Lore with Robin, as I replaced our father with Lore?”

“Our father?” Robin questioned.

“It seems that Tristan was imprinted on one of Dr. Soong’s earlier prototypes,” elaborated Geordi. “His name was once Arik.”

“Oh,” she said simply as she looked to Tristan. “Did you regain this Arik’s memories too?”

“Some. They are fragmented and incomplete, but I believe that they give me a sense of grounding that I lacked before.”

“And Arik...when you were him...you were obsessed with your creator?”

“Very much so it seems,” he said after some consideration. “Though I assure you it was in mere adoration and admiration. There was nothing sexual or amorous about our relationship.”

“Oh good,” Robin sighed with a measure of relief. “‘Cause that would have been a new layer to Soong that no one would have wanted to deal with.”

“Indeed,” added Data, having a similar thoughts about the notion.

“So...do you want to be called Tristan or Arik?” she inquired.

Tristan smiled and caressed her cheek. “Tristan...I’m still him more so than anyone else,” he said lightheartedly.

Robin smiled as well and leaned into his touch. “You seem like it to me. We can figure this out—together.”

“I would very like that. But first I need to confront Lore. I want him to know that he can’t control me anymore.”

Once again Geordi had a bad feeling, but Data was all for it so he kept quiet. He did insist that Deanna be involved, which made him a feel at little less afraid.

......

Robin walked with Tristan to Troi’s office. Even though he seemed to have himself under control it was still warranted to have someone escort him everywhere. She kissed his lips softly and told him they could catch up more later that night. That was if it was alright with Troi and Data. Tristan was looking forward to picking up where they had left off before he ran their relationship off track in pursuit of Lore.

Deanna could sense Tristan’s usual melancholy, but now it was mixed with a sense of hope. 

“I understand that you’ve been given back your memories,” she said softly as she sat with him.

“Yes. I can see now why Lore removed them,” he explained. “I became unpredictable in my emotional states. I know he was only trying to protect me, but I don’t understand why he didn’t tell Dr. Soong so that he could try to correct the imbalance.”

“Perhaps he was afraid that if the problem was irreversible that his creator would be forced to deactivate you and thus remove you from his life.”

Tristan thought over this possibility and frowned. “He let things get so out of hand that I killed my own sister in a jealous rage,” he told her at last. “I loved my sister more than myself at times. Yet...I was so unstable that I was able to kill her.”

“I didn’t say that his reasons were good, only that he must have had them,” Deanna explained. “How do you feel now? About Orla and about how Lore treated you after he retrieved you?”

“I know what happened to Orla was an accident,” he said calmly, trying not to lose himself in his grief again. “But everything Lore did was deliberate. The more I analyze his actions and choices, the more I understand how distorted...how evil he’s become.”

“He was heartbroken over losing you,” she told him. “And it seems that his own father turned against him and deactivated him not long after you and your sister disappeared.”

“That doesn’t explain away why he brainwashed me...and the Borg soldiers...and Data,” he rambled. 

“How did he brainwash you?” she prodded.

“He tried to erase any memory of our old life together. Then he manipulated me into calling him my master and used me like a mindless concubine,” he elaborated, his words punctuated with disgust. “I think he hated me as much as he hated his father for abandoning him; or Data for forgetting him. He is so full of hate and I can’t see any way of ever loving him again.”

“Then you’re ready to finally let him go?” she asked with importance, taking his hand to lend him the symbolic strength he might need.

“Yes,” he said, a single tear falling from his turquoise eyes. “I can’t love someone who made the choices he’s made. I think I should tell him...get closure.”

“Are you sure that you’re ready?” 

He nodded in silence and swallowed hard.

“Okay. I’ll be right there with you.”

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The action will pick up again. Promise:) I can’t promise that you’ll like the direction of it though, sorry.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna helps Tristan break up with Lore for good. Lore reacts in an unexpected way.

Riker stalked into the Brig with a shit eating grin on his bearded face and a PADD in his large hand. Lore just rolled his eyes. The only reason Commander Ken Doll would look so happy with himself was if he was about to inform him of his fate. 

The android had his arms folded in front of his chest and his legs crossed. He was the very image of defiance. Riker stood with his chest puffed out and stance wide like the alpha male he was; earning him a second eye roll.

“Hello, Lore,” Riker said authoritatively. “Guess what? I have been given the wonderful task of telling you what Starfleet Command has deliberated as your sentence.”

“Whoop-dee-fricken-doo,” snarked Lore. “Picard too busy washing his hair to tell me himself?”

Riker chuckled and shook his head before answering. “Yeah, he can’t stand to be the same room as you, so I guess that makes me the lucky one,” he remarked. “So here’s the deal. Starfleet wanted to switch you off permanently; unfortunately for you, Data has worked too long and hard to earn his right to be recognized as a sentient being. So that means you stay activated indefinitely. Which also means,” he added with an exasperated exhale, “You get a designated prison that has yet to be built on an isolated planetoid because you are dangerous, volatile and far too intelligent to be around other people.”

Lore blinked in dumbfounded silence for a few moments before he was able to respond. “What!? I have to exist just so I can go live in isolation for the rest of forever, alone!?”

“I didn’t get to that bit yet,” noted Riker as he read through the information of his PADD. “But yeah, that about sums it up.” The stupid grin was back on the first officer’s face and Lore very much wanted to smash in his skull.

“What about rehabilitation? What about Starfleet’s bleeding heart policies that everyone deserves the chance to turn their lives around?”

“Turns out that you’ve already had what they would deem as ‘turning points’ in your existence where you could have chosen to do the right thing. But you didn’t...not only that but you schemed and plotted to destroy all of humanity...that’s kinda a big deal. And every time Data or Troi tried to get some sign of remorse from you, you flipped them the bird, or verbally abused them. Sorry Lore. You did this to yourself.”

“Sorry? You’re sorry? Oh, I’ll make you sorry,” Lore grumbled. “I’ll make all of you sorry.”

“See that’s exactly what I was just saying,” scoffed Riker at his aggressive reaction. “Chill out. Accept some help once in a while.”

“Fuck you!”

Riker bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He expected as much from the irate android, but still found his reaction hilarious. “Okay, well. That’s all I got. You’ll be delivered to the Daystrom Annex in the meantime. Oh and I know I said that you would remain activated, but not until you actually get placed in this prison that still needs to be designed and constructed. So until then, Data will be deactivating you and putting you back in the storage unit.”

“What!?” Lore blurted, outraged even more than he already was. “He can’t do that! I want to see Troi right now!”

“Yeah...she doesn’t want to counsel you anymore. She won’t say why, only that she won’t. I can’t blame her. You’re kind of nasty.”

Lore stood and stomped his foot. “This is not okay, Riker. You said it yourself. I have rights!”

“No, Data has rights,” the man clarified. “He’s just extending them to you for some awful reason. I guess he’s worried that if you’re treated like a malfunctioning machine then he could be too one day. Have yourself a lovely afternoon. Data will be by in the morning to turn you off.”

This was not good. Lore needed to come up with something quick or his chance at freedom would be gone. He chewed at his thumbnail as he considered appealing to Tristan and using him in a play for escape. He should have been back by now. It was worrisome that he hadn’t returned already.

.....

By the time Tristan arrived in the Brig, Lore was lying on his back with his eyes closed. Deanna was at Tristan’s side, while Data hung back by the door. He knew what was about to go down and wanted to be close at hand in case Tristan wasn’t as rebalanced as they had hoped. He couldn’t let anything happen to Deanna.

“Lore,” said Tristan as he took a step closer. 

Lore was trying to play it cool. He didn’t want to show all his cards and decided to feign indifference. 

When the prisoner refused to acknowledge him Tristan continued to say his piece anyways. “Lore, I have had my memories restored,” he said flatly. “I know what happened and now I know why you treated me like you did. You had no right to use me like a sex toy and lock me away.”

Lore opened his eyes and sat up. He was not expecting this at all. He fixed his paramour with a distrusting glare. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I did what I could to keep you safe. I removed your memories because they were infecting you...they made you hysterical. Everything I did was out of love.”

“No. That’s just what you tell yourself,” Tristan countered with a touch of sadness.

“You really remember...everything?” asked Lore as he stood and tilted his head. A look of wonder on his features.

“Yes...the emporium where we met; the lake where we became friends; and the harvest festival when we became lovers,” he listed with open affection. Then his tone got darker. “I also recall the accident that snapped my spine and waking up afterwards. So many lies were told that I think even you forgot the truth in the end.”

Lore’s face became a scowl. “I did what I had to to keep you going...to ensure our life together,” he snapped.

“I know...but...I also know that you didn’t have the life experience or wisdom to truly know how on your own. You were young and afraid and you should have asked for help,” Tristan argued back.

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” Lore spat, enraged. “Father was enamoured with Data and Juliana. He didn’t give two fucks about me anymore. He gave you to me to keep me entertained and sent me on my way.”

“That’s not true,” Deanna interjected.

“Deanna,” Data warned her from behind. 

Lore looked at the empath and then at his brother by the door. “Oh really? What do you know about it?”

“She knows that Dr. Soong didn’t want you to see me anymore after he created this version of me,” said Tristan in their stead. “They know that Soong discouraged our relationship.”

“What!?” Lore blurted, offended that they could know.

“Perhaps Noonien was right,” Tristan continued. “You and I should have kept our distance. I intend to do that now.”

“Tris...no. I know I wasn’t exactly nice to you before. I didn’t really mean to call you a whore...please don’t be angry.” Lore was beginning to sound desperate. He obviously regretted his decision to appear as though he didn’t care about him.

“I’m not angry, Lore. I’m done being angry,” Tristan said with another sad smile. “I only came to tell you that we’re done. There is too much evil and hate in you. So thank you for rescuing me, but I don’t ever want to see you, or speak to you again.”

Lore looked devastated by Tristan’s proclamation. Suddenly, compelled to be near him, Lore stepped too close to the forcefield, forgetting momentarily that it was there. It sparked and warned him to back off. 

“Please don’t say that,” he begged. “You need me as much as I need you.”

“No. I have a new chance at getting it right,” Tristan said with renewed confidence in himself. “Maybe this time, with Data’s help, I can have a full and meaningful existence as an android.”

“Tris...Come on! They’re gonna lock me away in some desolate prison cell! I’ll be forgotten and all alone!”

He really didn’t seem to care. “Goodbye, Lore.”

Tristan took the lead and walked out of the Brig. Data joined him, but glanced at Deanna before allowing the doors to close.

“It’s alright,” she told her friend. “I’ll be along in a minute.”

Data gave her a nod and continued on his way.

Deanna came closer to Lore’s cell. He was now sitting on the cold, unfeeling floor with head hung in despair.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her tone professional. Of course she knew that he wasn’t; far from it. Over their time together most of Lore’s emotions had been mixed and difficult to get a fix on. But not now. Now he was in falling into an emotion pit of self-loathing.

“Fuck you, Counsellor,” he spat, remembering Riker’s stupid smug face when he revealed that she had refused to help him anymore.

“You already lost him before. Why is this time any different?”

“You know why,” he muttered, voice hard and raw. “He knows everything and he’s rejecting me.”

“Shouldn’t he after everything you’ve done? Not just to him but to everyone you’ve ever come into contact with?”

“If you’re looking for remorse you’re shit out of luck,” he said as he gave her a quick flash of his hurt-filled eyes. “I did what I had to in order to survive. Every time.”

“Is that true, or is that just what you tell yourself?”

Lore stopped responding to her then. He encircled his hands around the back of his neck as he continued to stare into his lap. Deanna wondered if things might have gone better if Data had taken a more active roll in Tristan’s decision to end things with his brother. But her friend chose not to get involved and kept out of the way. It was strange to see Data so passive, as though he not only wanted to be there to witness Lore’s reaction, but to see if he would look like his heart was being ripped out. If that was the case, she believed that he got what he wanted. Lore was most definitely destroyed.

......


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Data dreams of Tasha Yar, but is woken by Deanna and her plea for his help. Lore is upset and despite his horrible nature she can’t allow him to suffer. Data doesn’t seem to care as much as she does. Things don’t go well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to give away the story but I must add a warning for Rape/act of sexual violation.

Data knew he was dreaming. He was standing on a hill of vibrant green grass and all-too-blue sky. He recognized the scene as the hilltop used in Tasha’s holographic farewell message. He looked around himself but couldn’t see her anywhere. Then he heard her very distinguishable laugh and turned around to find her standing behind him.

“Tasha, what are you doing here?” 

“I guess you’ve been thinking about me,” she said with a smile, “I did teach you that thing you did with your mouth. Jenna seemed to to like it.”

The android’s eyebrows shot up and he looked almost embarrassed that she would know what he had been up to. “That was a private encounter.”

“With a special friend, I know. Speaking of which,”she said as she came closer to him. “I don’t know if I like her for you. She’s rather Mid-nineteen-hundreds housewife. You know, vapid and overtly feminine.”

“Jenna D’Sora is a weapons specialist and a highly skilled security officer,” he countered with importance.

“Fine, if you say so,” she replied with her hands up in mock surrender.

“I find it odd that you would form such a low, albeit specific, opinion of her. Especially since you did not grow up on Earth and therefore have little reference to it’s cultural history.”

“Hey, this is your dream, Data. Basically you’re the one forming the opinions. In fact you could say that you’re arguing with yourself.”

Data had to consider this idea for a moment. “Geordi said something similar. He does not believe that Jenna is a good match either.”

“Ouch, so you had to hear it from me? You couldn’t trust your best friend?”

“Tasha, I know that Jenna is not you—I will never know anyone else quite like you, of this I am certain. However, I should allow myself to consider that I could have a life-partner one day.”

“I think you could too...and should. But her? Didn’t she already break your heart once before?”

“I was incapable of what you would call heartbreak at that time,” he corrected.

“And now?” she pressed. “What if she were to lead you on and then break things off again?”

“I do not know. I have seen what heartbreak has done to Lore. It has made him bitter and cold...”

“And evil,” she scoffed.

“Yes, I suppose it has made him that as well,” he said thoughtfully.

“Don’t let that temptress turn you against humanity; against your friends.”

“Lore already tried to do this and very nearly succeeded.”

“But Geordi and Picard saved you.”

“My friends save me everyday.”

“That’s good...you should write that down when you wake up.”

“When I wake up?”

“Yeah, Data...you’re dreaming. Remember? So you need to wake up!”

“Data, wake up!” called Deanna.

Data’s eyes shot open and he stared up into Deanna’s very perturbed face. She shifted her position to allow him room to sit up.

“Were you attempting to wake me, Deanna?”

“Sorry, Data. I tried to stop her,” said Jenna with a yawn. That was when Data recalled that he was in D’Sora’s bed and he was not exactly decent.

“Data...it’s Lore. He’s...I think there’s something wrong with him,” she said quite hesitantly.

“Is there not always so something wrong with him?” Data retorted as he pulled up the sheet to better cover his bare chest.

“This is a different kind of wrong,” the empath informed him, unbothered by his state of undress. “He’s sitting on the floor of his cell. His knees are drawn up like he’s trying to make himself small, or he’s attempting to comfort himself; like Tristan so often does. And he isn’t talking...at all. No limericks, or swearing, or singing...nothing since last night.”

“Did something happen?” Data wondered. He was beginning to understand her concerns, but needed more information before he could come up with plausible causes, or solutions.

“Data you were there,” she said. “Tristan...basically walked away from him. I think it really hurt him.”

“Good. It has been near impossible to find something to get his attention.”

“Data, I’m serious. He’s upset....inconsolable.”

“If he is inconsolable it stands to reason that I will not be able to console him.”

Deanna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She huffed an exasperated sigh and stood from the bed. “Sorry to bother you. I’ll send word when your brother has succumbed to cascade failure.”

“That is highly unlikely. Lore has committed numerous horrible acts of violence and destruction and has never once shown any sign of remorse, nor vulnerability. He is most likely having a lark at your expense.”

“I know Lore has been awful to you—he’s been horrible to everyone—but I think this is real. I can sense that he’s in pain and you should at least try to help him; you are still his brother.”

“Deanna, Lore is a liar and not to be believed. I implore you to have nothing more to do with him. Once I am dressed and have logged my dreams I will go to the Brig myself and deactivate him. If he is as distraught as you believe it will be the best thing I can do for him.”

She knew that was the plan. Lore was to be deactivated until months from now when his little prison had been build. But what good would it do him if he was left in exile to deal with his emotional pain? Besides, the throbbing in her head wasn’t getting any better. So she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“I understand your concerns, but I want one last session with him before you do that,” Deanna told him firmly. “If Lore receives anymore consideration for his emotional wellbeing after this that’s your decision. But I can’t allow him to suffer unnecessarily.”

“If that is your decision, Counsellor, I will wait for you to contact me. I will not return to the Brig until you are satisfied.”

“Thank you, Data.”

......

There was an oppressive, sinking darkness consuming Lore. Deanna quickly became afraid that if she didn’t do something he would drown in it like Lal had. She had never felt such visceral, deep pain from Lore before and didn’t know what else to do to stop it except to throw him a life preserver, herself.

They were alone in the Brig, the android and the empath. She keyed in her emergency release code and the forcefield fell away. Lore was on the floor with his head hidden in the crooks of his elbows and he was shaking, full of raw grief and despair. 

She approached him slowly and crawled up next to him. She reached out her hand and delicately rested it on the middle of his back. She knew he was a monster, a creature to be feared. But right now in that moment he was a lost soul swirling into the depths of hell and she desperately wanted to save him.

Lore didn’t react to her presence at first, but then he slowly leaned into her touch. He was like a frightened little boy, trembling in her arms. If this was a trick to harm her he was beyond authentic in his performance.

She didn’t speak and barely breathed as he accepted her physical comfort, burying his face in her hair as he held onto her and let go of all his demons.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over again. “I’m so sorry.”

She soothed him by petting his hair and back, letting him cry and be vulnerable for the first time in forever.

They sat there for what felt like hours. When Lore finally stopped trembling he moved so that he could look in her dark eyes. 

“Thank you,” he breathed. 

She smiled a small, sweet smile and could feel his mood lift. It was such a relief to no longer feel his unrelenting emotional turmoil. But her euphoria was short lived. She could feel something new slowly creep in and take it’s place. Her brows knit together as the realization swept over her. It was lust and she was an absolute fool.

In an instant Lore had her pinned beneath him and her comm badge removed; thrown across the floor. She could feel his weight crushing her in place, his hand clamped over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He struggled a little to free himself of his ridiculous black Borg costume. Her only hope was that there was a security officer watching from a remote location, as there was meant to be. 

Next she felt him shift his position as he clawed at her uniform. Then he paused unexpectedly and stared into her eyes.

“I know you were adamant that I could take what I wanted from your body, but I would never have your mind or soul,” he whispered coldly. “But I think I came rather close, don’t you? It was nice...having you believe that I needed you. I suppose I still do, in another fashion.”

His exposition over, Lore moved his hand away so that he could kiss her. It was harsh and emphatic; and damned if it didn’t stir something dark and dirty deep inside her. But this was all wrong and she wanted nothing more to do with him.

She wasn’t the only one potent with desire. She could feel his engorged member rub into her now bare hip. And when she wriggled against him in protest he slammed his hand down over her lips once more and smiled cruelly. 

“You have no one to blame but yourself,” he taunted. “Normally this would be Tristan’s obligation, but you helped to turn him against me. Thought he could do better. Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick. One last hurrah before they throw away the key.”

She managed to get her arms free from between their bodies, but no matter how hard she hit him, or scraped at his synthetic skin he wouldn’t stop. She squeezed her eyes tight and gasped into his hand as he entered her. 

Despite the obvious violation, he was being strangely tender. She could feel him kissing and gently sucking at her neck and even though the act itself was an assault, he was keeping his thrusts gentle and even. More than that she could sense a sort of twisted love and affection coming from him. It was disturbing, the true mark of someone backwards and delusional. 

Deanna brought her hands up and tried to pry his hand off of her mouth. He began to watch her, focusing intently on what she would do next. Since he wasn’t going to let her go, she caressed his face and let her fingers run through his messy dark hair. This seemed to entice him because he picked up his pace. 

Then, against her will, she arched her back into him as the pleasure and heat began to build inside her traitorous body. Lore removed his hand and kissed her passionately. She pulled his hair but gave in to his demands all the same.

Now she was all but lost in ecstasy and she secretly hoped that no one was watching the security feed. In moments it was over. She came in a series muffled cries into his mouth and Lore followed, silently burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She watched him as she huffed to catch her breath. He moved off of her and stood to redress himself. Slowly she did the same, only she stayed on the floor, keeping a wary eye on her attacker. The most shocking revelation wasn’t only his surprising gentleness, but that her clothing was not torn, or damaged in any way. 

“Is that why you call it your distasteful human desires?” she dared to ask despite knowing better than to upset him. “Because you’re so considerate despite your thorny nature?” 

“Oh I can be nasty and brutal,” he replied. “But for some reason I like you.” It was an odd confession. Even odder was when he held out his hand to help her stand up. “I won’t bite.”

She reluctantly gave him her hand and he pulled her up easily. “Why did you do that?” she wondered aloud as she checked herself over. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” he hummed as he leaned in and wiped her smeared lipstick from around her mouth. The kindness of the gesture got her attention. She thought he was about to kiss her again and couldn’t decide if she should protest or not. Then he didn’t and she was almost disappointed. What was wrong with her?

“I’ve been wanting to touch you since I held you hostage,” he explained. “And now I’ve been painted into a corner. How could I not take you when you offered yourself up on a silver platter?”

Deanna wasn’t sure how to feel about what he had just told her. If someone else had told her such a story she wouldn’t have believed Lore could be so humane...so human. But here she was, witnessing his actions herself. Her body was still calming down from the excitement of his attention. He could have killed her, but all he wanted was to touch her, experience her sexually for himself.

The empath was stirred from her contemplation when she suddenly realized that the forcefield had jumped back to life and Lore was on the outside of the cell.

“Bye Dee, it’s been a slice,” he hummed with a grin.

“Lore,” she called. He actually paused and waited for her to speak. “Thank you for not taking my life.”

He gave her a piteous look. “Take care of Tris, would you? He might think he’s okay, but he has a long road ahead of him.”

She found it difficult to believe that he would spare her just so that she could be there to care for the mental health of the man he loved. But stranger things had happened where Lore was concerned. She watched impotently as he walked freely out of the Brig.

A few moments later Worf and Jenna rushed into the room.

“The visual feed went down,” stated Worf as he tried to assess why Deanna was inside the cell, alone. “Are you alright, Counsellor?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she assured him. She knew now would be the time to tell them of her assault, but for some reason she hesitated. “I stupidly believed that Lore was emotionally distraught. Clearly it was a ruse to escape.” 

Jenna and Worf exchanged a look. They didn’t seem to believe her at face value. In all her years she had never done something so reckless. 

“Counsellor Troi, where is Lore? How long ago did he leave you?” implored Jenna as she released the field and freed her.

Worf was already putting out a message for ship-wide security breach and the klaxon rang out announcing that they were at yellow alert.

“I don’t know,” Deanna said at a loss. “He certainly didn’t tell me his plans.”

Worf came to her side to make sure she was alright and to hand her back her comm badge. “You are certain that you are unharmed?”

“I’m fine,” she bluffed as she bit back her distress and forced a smile.

Of course Worf had known her far too long to believe her, but he had a fugitive to catch, so her interrogation would have to wait.

.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly can’t recall anymore if Lore’s intention to force himself on Deanna was used in the actual episode or only in the novelization of ‘Descent’. He doesn’t of course. She stands up to him and he backs off. But I couldn’t resist it and it is very relevant to this scene.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chase is on. They need to find Lore and fast.

Tristan was appreciating one of Data’s paintings when the klaxon started. 

“What the hell is that?” he asked as he instinctively covered his ears.

“That is a yellow alert,” said Data, repeating the computer. “Data to the Bridge. What has happened?”

Riker’s stern voice answered. “Bridge here, Mr. Data. It seems that your wicked brother has made a break for it. Somehow he tricked Counsellor Troi into releasing him from his cell.”

Data was actually taken aback. “How is that possible? Why would she commit such a monumental mistake?”

While Data waited for a reply Tristan ran out of his quarters. The other android decided to follow.

“I don’t know the specifics, but Deanna must have had a valid reason for her actions,” said Riker. “Right now we have the ship on high alert. We need to find him and deactivate him pronto.”

“Understood,” complied Data. He caught up to Tristan in the turbolift. 

“I need to go down to engineering,” he told his mentor. “I need to make sure that Robin is safe.”

Data agreed and commanded the lift to take them to main engineering. Selfishly he wanted to ensure Geordi’s safety as well.

As they arrived at their destination all hands were busy locking down the warp drive, impulse engines, transporter units and Shuttle Bay doors. They needed to keep Lore from leaving the ship in the obvious ways.

Data located Geordi and offered his assistance. But Geordi was distracted by Tristan.

“What the hell is he doing here, Data!? This is a crisis and he could be involved. He can’t be here.”

Tristan was already beside Robin. She and Sonya were working hard to trace any sign of his energy signature unique to Soong-type androids. It was actually beneficial to have Data and Tristan in the same place.

“I think I got something,” announced Sonya.

Geordi had to pause his argument to see what she had. 

......

Deanna walked slowly back towards her quarters. She felt disassociated from reality. She had never felt this way before except maybe when Ambassador Ves Alkar had seduced her for her youth and vitality. But she had trusted him. She knew better than to trust Lore.

The flashing yellow lights reminded her of Lore’s eyes. It was then that she noticed an empathic pull. If no one could find the android by technological means, maybe she could locate him through his distinct turbulent emotional output. 

She did her best to refocus and ground herself, pressing her feet firmly to the floor and reaching out from within. She could vaguely sense something on the edges of her mind and she tried to move towards it like a dowsing rod finding water. It was more difficult to follow while she was in the turbolift and she had to try several levels before she glimpsed him again.

When Lore’s presence became its strongest she lifted her hand to tap her comm badge. Only someone stopped her. Lore had one hand clamped around her hand and the other around her throat.

“I thought you got the message,” Lore whispered, nuzzling his nose into her earlobe. “I let you live once, but now you’re pressing your luck.”

“I came alone...to find you,” Deanna managed despite the strangulation. “Even if you kill me you still won’t make it off this ship alive.”

She could feel his body press into her from behind and she was sure her was inhaling deeply, smelling her hair. She was beginning to wonder if Tristan wasn’t the only one prone to obsessive fixations. 

“You’re probably right,” he said, grinning against her temple, relaxing his grip on her throat ever so slightly. “Good thing you’ve volunteered your services as my hostage. This time I’ll be sure to keep you close.”

She whimpered as he closed his mouth over hers and kissed her forcibly. She knew she wouldn’t stand a chance if he got her off the ship, but she didn’t think she would survive any attempt to get away from him either. She felt him snatch her badge off of her teal uniform front and heard it chirp pathetically as he crushed it.

Lt. Worf and D’Sora found them then, embracing in a mock display of affection. The blonde officer cringed at the way the android was molesting Troi. “Let her go, Lore!” she demanded with authority. 

Worf shared her repulsion and growled audibly a beat after. “Now, Lore!”

“I really don’t think I should do that,” snarked Lore in return. He had released the empath’s mouth and had her in front of him like body armour. Then he clicked his tongue at Jenna. “I really don’t get what Data sees in you. Deanna would have been a more obvious choice.”

“Lore, do not harm her,” stated Worf, knowing if he was too aggressive the android could snap her neck. “If you let her go now we can try to renegotiate your sentencing.”

“Nah...the time for that has passed. I want justice. My own justice,” Lore said with defiance. “When do I get recognition for the shit I had to deal with? Huh? I didn’t ask for that lunatic to build me and I certainly didn’t force him to make a disturbed replicant of my lover.”

“Lore, we’ll listen,” said Deanna, her voice trembling with fear. “Please let me go...please.”

Data trotted down the corridor just in time to see his brother reach around Deanna so that his hands could connect. He saw the telltale flip of his fingernail.

“Stop him!” Data yelled. But it was too late. 

Sometime between the time of his escape from the Brig and finding Troi, Lore had recalibrated his site to site transport tech to sync with their transporters. In theory, the transporters were offline and his efforts should have failed; but somehow Lore and Deanna shimmered into thin air.

“How did he do that?” Worf demanded.

“I do not know,” said Data as he began backing up. He needed to get back to Engineering so they could trace his brother’s path. He also needed to interrogate Tristan. That was if Tristan was still there.

......

“Data, Worf just let me know that Lore used his site to site,” said Geordi in disbelief. “We’re doing our best to track him down now, but if he keeps jumping around the ship...Data!”

The golden android had Tristan pinned to one of the consoles and he looked pissed. “Did you help him!?”

“What?” squeaked Tristan. He had no idea what was happening or why Data was attacking him. Robin and Sonya had been right beside them and they were white as sheets.

“Did you help Lore to escape!?”

“Data, let him go,” advised Geordi. Tristan was close to tears he was so terrified. “The kid has been through enough. He obviously didn’t help Lore.”

“Sir...we were with him....like the whole time,” said Sonya sheepishly. “He never touched the console...at least not until you smashed him into it.”

Data straightened his posture and let Tristan up. The younger android should have gotten as far away from Data as he could, but for some reason he stood his ground.

“I’m just as guilty as you for Lore being reactivated so that he can now walk freely around the Enterprise,” he said with an eerie calm. “But I did not help him. He knows your technology and he has been inside your head. He doesn’t need my help, or anyone’s.”

The computer chirped a moment later and indicated that a shuttle was leaving the bay despite all readings stating that it was locked down.

“Now how is he doing that?” wondered Geordi as he tried to override the system and block Lore’s exit.

Data moved beside him and worked faster, but somehow he was blocked or misled at every turn. “I do not understand how he is moving so quickly.”

“Maybe he’s not,” guessed Robin. “Maybe he’s planted a virus of some kind and this is all an illusion.”

Picard’s voice boomed over the comms, “Captain Picard to Engineering. It seems like the shuttle is empty. We tried hailing it and no one answered. Sensors aren’t picking up any life signs. It’s my understanding that Deanna is with Lore.”

“What?” gasped Geordi. “No...tell me that isn’t true.”

“Have the security teams reported back yet?” inquired Data, ignoring his friend. “Perhaps they have not left the ship.”

“They are there in the bay now. We are waiting to hear back,” said Riker. “Maybe you should join them, Data.”

“Understood,” said Data. The comm closed and the android walked towards the main entrance, but Geordi stood in his way. “Geordi, it is imperative that you move.”

“Naw...see, you’re acting fairly irrationally right now and I don’t think you should go to the shuttle bay.”

“This is not the time. Deanna is in danger.”

“How much force did you just use to slam Tristan into that console?”

Data didn’t understand the point of his question. At least not until he looked back at the console and realized for the first time that it was dented and flickering.

“That is irrelevant,” he said in his own defence. “Tristan is an android. I know how much force is safe and what is a risk.”

“Look, you haven’t quite been yourself since this whole thing started,” argued Geordi.

“And I will never recover if my delinquent brother escapes with Troi and murders her,” he countered harshly. “Now move out of my way, or I will be forced to move you myself.”

Geordi reluctantly stepped aside. He knew he wasn’t going win. 

Tristan was agitated and wanted to find a way to help. “I should go with him. Maybe I can sway Lore to surrender.”

“I thought you were done with him?” pressed Robin.

“If I can stop him I have to try.”

“Wait,” said Geordi. His mind was racing with possibility. “What if you’re right, Lefler? What if our sensors are lying to us and Lore is nowhere near the shuttle bay?”

All eyes were on the chief engineer for a moment. “Tristan, I want you to record a message to Lore. I’ll broadcast it ship-wide, but only on a frequency he can hear. I want you to ask him to meet you in cargo hold two.”

Tristan gave the idea some thought. “Won’t Data hear it as well?”

“Make it cryptic if you can. Something maybe he will understand and Data won’t right away.”

“You can do this Tris,” Robin told him supportively.

It took him approximately one point three minutes to come up with his message.

“Recording,” Geordi said.

“Lore, you told me a story once of a wicked child and a celestial beauty. Find me where the darkness fell. Where dreams were broken.”

Geordi grinned. “That was great. I just hope Data doesn’t get it as quickly as Lore.”

.....


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lore makes his escape. Will he have someone with him or will he leave alone?

Lore had Deanna inside a very large cargo crate. It worked perfectly for what he needed. It not only had a stasis function, but an encryption feature as well. Of course it was probably meant for produce not living, breathing people. But he was willing to take a chance. 

When he heard the message from Tristan he laughed. Deanna wasn’t sure what had caused his sudden mirth. 

“Sounds like someone isn’t as done with as he thought,” Lore whispered. “I think my boy wants to make a plea for your life.”

“Tristan?” Deanna dared to ask in hushed tones. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“You wouldn’t,” he retorted. “Seems like he wants to meet me in the cargo hold where Data threw me out into space. Which means someone else probably put him up to it.”

“Or he recalls a story you told him. Just because he’s regained his old memories doesn’t mean that he’s forgotten the events of the past few years.”

“You are so intelligent,” Lore complimented with genuine admiration. “We are going to have such fun together. You know, after I hide you away for awhile. But I’ll come back to reclaim you. Don’t worry.”

“Lore, please,” she pleaded in one last solid try to win him over. “If you leave me in this box I will die. What fun would that be?”

“You won’t die, darling. You’ll see.”

He gave her a quick kiss and then got out of the container. Deanna tried to breathe evenly and not become hysterical as he refitted the lid and it clicked loudly into place. The hum of the stasis generator filled her ears, creating a barrier of white noise. She now had no concept of what was happening outside her small, dark tomb. Her own emotions were making it impossible to sense anyone, or even attempt to send a telepathic message to Riker.

Lore snuck over to the next room. It was brighter there. He could still see Wesley Crusher’s dumb childish face when he fired a phaser over his head at the boy’s mother. The kid had almost wet himself with fear.

“Good times,” Lore sighed. He walked up to the transporter platform and began tapping in some coordinates. Then he heard the doors swish open and closed. “Hello Tristan. I thought you never wanted to see me again?”

“I was wrong,” he said as he casually looked around the room. 

“She’s not here,” Lore mused as he caught Tristan wondering where his captive was hidden. “Aw, were you jealous, my love? Thought I had replaced you?”

Tristan gave him his best flirtatious grin. “You could never replace me. Just like I could never replace you.”

“You and my brother have a similar taste in women. You seem to like the mousy back-talkers. I just don’t get it. A smart mouth doesn’t make up for actual substance.”

“Oh, I suppose you think that Deanna is different?” Tristan prodded.

“Deanna is very different,” he said softly with actual affection. “She’s a lot like you. Beautiful, intelligent and knows her mind...not so that she can shoot off her mouth, but so that she can relate to the universe and blaze her own path.”

“You do realize that you’re destroying her uniqueness by making her your plaything?”

Lore scoffed and laughed uncomfortably. “No...look. She’ll warm up to me eventually. I’ll let her be herself again once we get away from here.”

“Just like you did with me? Lore you can’t wipe her memories and make her forget her life.”

“Your home was gone! I was saving you from the pain of your past!”

“There he is...there’s the Lore I know,” said Tristan with something akin to satisfaction. “Angry and selfishly defensive. Infallible just like his creator.”

“How can you be so flippant after what those men did to you!? You didn’t remember at first, but then you did... Little by little the violence of what they did to you ate away at your mind...at your soul!”

“What are your talking about?” Tristan was standing beside him now and staring into his pained yellow eyes.

“The reason why I took your memories. Your violent death,” Lore told him sadly.

“I slipped on the rocks. It was an accident. You took my memories because of Orla.”

“You still don’t remember..?” Lore shook his head and smiled weakly. He had slipped on the rocks; but that was the only part of the ugly truth. “Fine. Good. I’m glad you don’t know. I was worried. Forget I said a damned thing.”

“Lore...why did I lose my shoes?” 

There was that nagging, dumb question again. He hadn’t heard it in decades but it felt like yesterday that Tristan was sitting in his father’s lab, dangling his bare feet.

“Some horrid assholes stole them from you,” he said quietly, trying not to get emotional about it.

“You really loved me once, didn’t you?”

Lore could see the disconnect in Tristan’s beautiful eyes. There was something very android there now that hadn’t been a part of him before. He suspected that Arik was to blame for that. 

“I would have done anything for you, Tris. In truth I did,” Lore confessed. 

And he had. He had tried to be good for so long. Losing Tristan after Orla’s unfortunate death was the last straw. It broke him. Lore got his vengeance on the cretins that hurt his precious love. He killed them and their families, and the whole damned colony with the help of a very hungry Crystalline Entity. And he would do it again.

“Lore...let Deanna go,” Tristan begged, reaching his hand to cradle Lore’s face. “I’ll go with you. Take me instead.”

“No, my love. You were right. We’re done. I want you to be happy. Have this life you never could have had before. Learn a skill, be a scholar, be a whimsical artist like your sister for all I care. But be happy. When I’m gone I’ll send word of where I hid Deanna. I won’t take her either. She really does deserve better than me.”

It was the sanest and most sincere Lore had been since he tricked his creator into putting that chip in his head. He took Tristan’s hand and kissed his palm before letting it go. He tapped a few more buttons and then ran over to stand on the transporter pad.

Before Tristan could think of a way to stop him, Lore shimmered into nothing. There was no trace of him or his coordinates. True to his word, however, a message appeared on the console.

.....

Deanna was in and out of consciousness now. It wouldn’t be long before she fell into a deep, comma like sleep. She couldn’t be sure if she would ever wake again, so she continued to fight against the urge to drift away.

The next thing she knew the white noise stopped and the heavy lid lifted, crashing in the distance. A golden hand reached for her and she was sure it was Lore. Only it wasn’t Lore—it was Data. He had her in his arms and he was carrying her to Sickbay. She leaned into him and sobbed, grateful to be safe, but overwhelmed by her ordeal.

Data stayed by her side despite his concerns that she might be apprehensive to his presence. Of course she wasn’t. Just the opposite. She felt safer knowing he was there.

Sometime later Deanna found the strength to ask her friend about what had happened. Data explained as best as he could, but he didn’t have all the details.

“And there is no trace of Lore?” she asked as she reclined on the biobed.

“None. Lt. Lefler was correct. It would seem Lore flooded our systems with a worm-like virus that worked its way from the sensors to the transporters. Locking and unlocking security protocols; morphing and changing our perceptions of the ship’s functions. It will take a few days to be sure that everything is functioning as it should be.”

“That clever bastard,” she hummed. “That will surely give him time to get away. Even if he is just floating around in open space. I suppose he didn’t get along all these years without knowing how to get out of a sticky situation or two.”

“Deanna,” Data began with trepidation. “Are you alright? I could not help but overhear your discussion with Dr. Crusher. I know that Lore raped you and I cannot express how deeply concerned I am for your wellbeing.”

Although his emotions seemed to weaken as soon as Lore was off the ship, he was experiencing something akin to guilt. He should have gone with her when she woke him from his dream program. He couldn’t help but believe that it was his fault she had been violated at all.

Deanna frowned. It didn’t surprise her in the least to discover that he knew. “I don’t want everyone to know, Data. This stays between you, me and Beverly. I mean it. You can’t talk about this with Geordi.”

“I understand,” he said although he couldn’t see why she would want to bear such a burden alone. “Was he at least gentle with you?”

“Shockingly, yes,” she confided. “Lore is definitely one complicated and unpredictable person.”

“I agree. Tristan was the one who told us where to find you. He said that Lore came around to letting you go. Although we are all grateful that you are safe, I cannot help but worry for him all alone out there in the darkness.”

Deanna knew he was referring to being exposed to the hardships of space, but there was something poetic about his words. Lore was indeed at risk of being consumed by the darkness from within.

......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is winding down now. What a ride. I think there are a few plot holes I never really addressed. If you think of any that stand out let me know ;)  
> I think there might be only one more chapter left to go. Thank you to everyone who has been reading! I’ve had so much fun with this one. I must confess I was tempted to let loose and have Lore kill Deanna, but I just couldn’t do it. Not to Deanna.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We check in with Tristan and Data now that Lore has disappeared.

“How are you holding up?” asked Robin as she sat down next to Tristan. 

He had finally agreed to let Geordi and Data change some of his facial features. He now had a sharper jawline and higher cheekbones. He even lightened his hair, giving it a ginger tone that set off his turquoise eyes. Although she had to admit that she liked the changes, she somewhat missed his startling resemblance to Wesley Crusher.

“Me? I’m fine,” he told her with a hint of confusion.

“You realize that you helped Lore find that last tiniest trace of humanity left in him.”

Tristan smiled and put his arm around her. “Yeah. I just hope that wherever he ends up he remembers it.”

“You won’t try to find him again, will you?” she pressed.

He kissed her temple and held her closer. “No. It was time. I just wish I understood before what I do now.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“That Lore was right, in a way. There were people in the colony that were terrible and cruel,” he said offhandedly. “People that attacked me for loving him. Not that I condone his decision to kill every last one of them. I mean, my family perished. My parents, grandparents, cousins. All of them. They certainly didn’t deserve to die.”

Robin gave him a concerned look, but then kissed him with affection. They quickly became lost in their passions, delighting in being so physical and emotionally connected again. She couldn’t imagine losing her whole family like that; her whole world. She knew it was irrational to think she could try and give it all back to him, but she could try.

“I love you, Tristan,” she whispered when they parted. 

“I love you too, Robin,” he echoed with sincere affection.

.......

Data couldn’t look Geordi in the eye, figuratively speaking. He decided to delete all of his brother’s memory files that they had copied to the Enterprise’s database. He no longer wanted to pry into Lore’s life, or try to discern why he was like he was. All that mattered was that even though Lore was defective he had still managed to redeem himself ever so slightly. Despite all his bad decisions and acts of violence he had decided to let Deanna Troi live.

“Hey Data,” said Geordi as he entered the lab. “Can I do anything?”

“No, Geordi. Thank you,” he replied quietly.

“Hey at least you got one brother out of all of this. Who would have thought it?” his friend mused.

“I am concerned that I am left with more questions than answers,” said Data thoughtfully.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Like did Soong create more problems by reusing one his failed prototypes? Did Tristan fall off his rocker because ethically he was having an elicit affair with his own brother?”

The android furrowed his brows and gave his companion a strange look. “I had not considered those queries, Geordi.”

“Oh,” Geordi was obviously surprised he was the only having these concerns. “Well...add them onto your pile of big bad shit you’ve just learned about your family’s history.”

“I believe I shall,” Data grumbled as he completed his task.

“Dare I ask how things are going with D’Sora?”

Data hesitated again. “With all that was happening I had little to no chance of investigating the nature of my emotional experiences. I find with Lore gone I am either at peace, or he was in fact the source of most of my turmoil.”

“You mean literally because he was still able to feed you his emotions, or figuratively because his mere presence was stressing you out?”

“I do not know yet,” Data told him. “I suppose only time will tell.”

“And Jenna?” Geordi prompted again.

“I suppose time will be necessary in this instance as well. It will be interesting to discover if she still intends to continue our relationship even without my intense emotions.”

“Hmm, well. You already know what I think about it.”

The android nodded in the affirmative and Geordi was sure that he heard him sigh. Even if Data was back to square one with his emotions, he never truly believed that his friend never had any. They were just subtle and specific to him. 

“Come here, Data,” Geordi added as he opened his arms wide. Data gave him a questioning look but obliged and embraced him nonetheless.

“Why are you hugging me, Geordi?” he asked as they continued their contact.

“Because you looked like you could use a hug. Not one with sexual connotations like with Jenna. Or guilt attached like with Deanna. Just an honest, well-meaning gesture of friendship and support.”

“And forgiveness,” added Data as he squeezed Geordi a little tighter. 

“Yeah, but you know I forgave you already like a hundred times,” retorted his friend.

“Yes. But I would have been forever changed if I had lost you regardless if it was by my own hand,” the android confessed. “You said that I have gained one brother, but I firmly believe that I already had one in you.”

Geordi smiled and patted Data’s back a few times, too emotional from the compliment to comment. Then they ended their hug and moved apart.

“I love you too, Data,” he said at last.

Data didn’t repeat the sentiment. He honestly didn’t need to. But he did smile, showing his appreciation.

.....


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna takes a trip and finds a familiar face.

—Epilogue—

It was months later and Deanna was returning from a psychology conference. For some reason she decided to take the scenic route back to the Enterprise on a non Starfleet transport. They would be travelling through an ancient nebula that would be going through a transformative display, resulting a beautiful large-scale ballet of lights, colour, and wonderment. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Counsellor had mentioned the event to many of her friends and had hoped some of them would join her. Sadly, the prospect of spending a week at a stodgy conference beforehand deterred them from accepting her invitation.

As the ship came into range additional viewing ports were opened to the passengers so that they could have plenty of opportunity of observing the symphony of light without overcrowding. 

Deanna found herself in a quiet area. The small room had only one other occupant. She supposed that it was early yet and most people would take their time to arrive. Many had reserved space in the restaurant below so that they could watch the nebula while they dined and drank.

She did a double take when she realized that the man standing, mesmerized by the view was none other than Data. She was about to scold him for avoiding the trip to Betazed when she suddenly came to the frightening conclusion that this might not actually be her friend at all.

“The universe is a miraculous place; is it not?” asked the golden android. His voice was soft and whimsical, completely at ease.

Deanna stopped in her retreat, knowing she was already caught. “I’ve always thought so,” she replied, hoping she sounded calm.

“You can come closer,” he advised, turning slightly towards her now and meeting her gaze. “I won’t bite.”

The empath scolded herself internally. She really should have listened to Will and Worf when they insisted she remain on a Starfleet vessel. It was highly unlikely that anything suspect would happen if she had. But she believed she would be fine and a part of her still stubbornly did.

“I think I will just find another room,” she said plainly. “I don’t care for the angle of this window.

Lore grinned at her in that lopsided way of his and turned his attention back out at the view. “Suit yourself.”

“Are you here alone?” she asked, not entirely sure why.

“Yes. I think I prefer to be alone. No one to disappoint, or let me down.”

“I can see how that might be easier for some people,” she said in agreement.

“You know, of all the lies I told I really only regret one,” he said quietly with his back to her.

Deanna couldn’t help but be curious. She just hoped this wasn’t more trickery on his part.

“And what was that?” she inquired kindly.

“When I told you that my needing your help was a lie,” he said. “I was about to be lost in an emotional pit of despair and you really did save me. I’m sorry if you regret it, but I will always be grateful.”

It was of little consolation to her now after the way he had treated her. She supposed it did make her feel a touch better. It meant that her empathic intuition was right and she could trust herself that way again.

“You know I should report you,” she told him. 

“Will you?” he wondered as he shifted towards again. He didn’t look her in the eye this time. Almost as though he were ashamed and knew he deserved to be turned in to the authorities.

“Eventually,” she sighed. “Why don’t you enjoy the show for a while first?”

“You know if you wait too long I’ll just disappear again, don’t you?”

“Maybe you will, but maybe you won’t,” she said hoping he understood that she was giving him the opportunity to surrender himself peacefully.

“If I give myself up, would you visit me? Make sure I was getting the help I deserve?” 

She could hear the honest fear in his voice and she knew he didn’t trust that Data would. She also wondered how much his conscience had been weighing on him with so much time alone with his thoughts.

“Of course, Lore. If you want me to.” 

It was as though saying his name dispelled whatever power he might have had over her. She felt more at ease as he smiled and nodded. Professionally she needed to see him as the mistreated and mentally damaged individual he was and not just as the villain who had personally violated her. He was genuinely asking for her help and she had to give him the chance to prove that he could do better.

“I wonder if Data really was able to reset your ethical programming,” she commented as she sat in one of the chairs by the window. She decided to stay with him after all.

“Maybe. Or maybe I just don’t want to live in the past anymore. My father is dead and Tristan can get by without me. The only person I’m punishing with my continued terrible behaviour is myself.”

Deanna was taken aback. She wasn’t expecting him to say something so profoundly insightful.

“Hmm...In that case I think this is a wonderful memory to start your new future,” she commented as she gestured towards the nebula. “What a beautiful, spiritually uplifting thing to have stored in your memory banks for when you feel lost and hopeless.”

Lore knew she was talking about the awe inspiring light show in front of them, but he was more interested in her continued presence. He was in awe that after everything he had put her through that she would be willing to endanger herself again in the hope that he was finally willing to get help.

He took a chance and sat next to her, their shoulders brushing against one another. They sat in contented silence for a long time. In the end, Lore slipped out and went on his way. Deanna didn’t even notice him leave.

Although she was disappointed that he hadn’t stayed to finally face the consequences of his actions, she had a feeling that their paths would cross again. 

End?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Galaxsphere347 for inspiring me to give Lore one last scene. And thank you so much to all my readers. I really hope this works as an ending point. I suppose in a way it still leaves things open to more story telling one day. Cheers!


End file.
